Terrifying Introduction
You are tending to your evergreen garden just behind your house. All seems to be going well as your lungs scream for joy at the inhalation of fresh, sweet air. Suddenly you hear a rustle in the shrubs beside you. Your hair stands on edge as if you have just been stung by a scorpion. Within the blink of an eye, a snake emerges with a struggling rodent in its grasp. Before you can pull yourself together, your legs take control and you find yourself at your balcony gasping for breath. Excited, you watch the intruder from a distance as it struggles to slither over your concrete fence with a bulging stomach. In a matter of seconds, it disappears from sight.
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Description
Snakes are legless creatures with long slender and flexible bodies and scales that overlap each other. They belong to the class reptilia; a class common to creatures such as crocodiles, lizards, tortoises etc. snakes are thought to have evolved from lizards because they share similar characteristics. Although, they are legless and without eyelids or external ears.
Like all reptiles, snakes are pokiliothermic (cold-blooded). This means that their body temperature depends on the environmental temperature. They rely on the sun in order to maintain body temperature, as they cannot generate their own body heat like mammals do (This means that they don’t rely on food to provide body heat). Because their food is just used for providing energy, they can survive on an extremely meager diet. Snakes can survive for months between successive meals with few being able to last for a year on just a large meal (as is the case of the African rock python). Snakes do not feed by biting and chewing, instead, they swallow their prey whole; with their specialized jaws enabling them to ingest prey much larger than the size of their own heads.
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Snakes live just about anywhere on earth; from the most brutal to the most tranquil and everything in between with the exception of Antarctica, parts of the polar regions and isolated islands such as New Zealand.
Snakes have overlapping scales. The transparent scales make their body surface dry and smooth and ensure the prevention of water loss. Snakes do not change colours but are naturally camouflaged to their environment (e.g the green mamba, gaboon viper, python, coral snakes, rattle snakes and infact virtually every snake out there). According to science, evolution has found a way to match every snake perfectly to its environment. Snakes regularly shed the outer layer of their skin as they grow. Over time, the scales get worn out and may become inhabited by parasites. The snakes must regularly keep a healthy layer of skin and therefore have to shed the old one. To do so, they rub the tip of their nose against rough objects such as stones to loosen the old skin. Once loosened, they crawl out of it, revealing a new outer layer of skin.
Sensitivity
Snakes sense their surroundings mainly through the use of their forked tongues and an organ located at the roof of their mouth called the Jacobson’s organ(named after the person who discovered it). The tongue collects scent particles from its surroundings- air, land and water. On retraction into its mouth, the tips of the tongue come in contact with the Jacobson’s organ which tells the snake what it has ‘tasted’-enabling it locate prey, predator or a potential mate. Most snakes also have good eye sight, with some scientists claiming that some have the ability to see thermally(as in like a thermal imaging camera), and so can locate prey just by sight. What is certain though, is that some snakes have ‘pit organs’ on their heads, just between their eyes and nostrils(snakes like pit vipers and pythons). These ‘pits’ are lined with cells that are extremely sensitive to heat, enabling the snake to locate prey in total darkness and strike with accurate precision.
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Snakes feed on small mammals, birds, rodents, fish, eggs, frogs and even other snakes. To feed, a snake has to capture and immobilize its prey. Some are ambush hunters, while others track down their prey. Most snakes immobilize or kill their prey by use of venom. Venom is a toxic substance composed of neurotoxins and other poisons and is produced by modified salivary glands in the upper jaw of the snake. The venom can break down tissues or disrupt the nervous system depending on the snake. The venom is injected into the victim by means of sharp needle like teeth called fangs. In most venomous snakes, the fangs can be retracted into a horizontal position to enable the snake close it mouth. In some other venomous snakes, the fangs are in a fixed position and so have to be short to enable the snake close its mouth without injuring itself. The fangs have openings at the end-passages through which venom can flow into its unfortunate victim.
Some snakes (usually the biggest) kill or immobilize their prey by suffocation. They coil around their prey and use their giant muscular body to squeeze the life out of them. This method is called constriction. Examples of snakes that kill by this method are: boa constrictors, pythons and anacondas, kingsnakes.
Snakes are predators that have predators. To prevent themselves from being eaten and to survive, they have evolved certain defense mechanisms varying according to different habitats or situations. Some snakes when approached by a predator, or when they sense danger tend to remain motionless and stay very still, hoping that their camouflaged skin will be sufficient to hide them in plain sight. Others make sounds to ward off unwanted company- e.g the rattle snake or hognose snake. The rattle snake is named so for the end of its tail that is modified into a rattle. Others such as the Arizona coral snake have certain colorations that let predators know that they are venomous and can cause harm. A few snakes like the harmless milk snake mimics the coloration of poisonous snakes in order to ward off predators. mambas and cotton mouths display their fangs to look intimidating. The spitting cobra sprays venom at the predator to blind or stun it and have just enough time to get away. The common racer just runs away. In most cases, if these methods don’t work, and the snake is cornered, harassed and feels threatened, it will strike at the intruder.
Reproduction
In snake reproduction, females release a chemical called pheromone. The scent attracts males and indicate her readiness to mate. The males follow the trail in order to locate the female. In some species, the female is significantly larger than the male. A female would mate several times with several males during her reproductive season. The courtship process in similar in most snakes. The male rubs the female with the underside of his head in order to stimulate her and properly orient his body against hers for ejaculation to occur. The males insert one of their penises (they have two) into the cloaca of the female. Mating can last for minutes, several hours and even days depending on the species. Some snakes-especially sea snakes give birth to their young alive, but most lay eggs. The baby snakes that hatch out are usually poisonous. The babies mature into adults at about two to three or four years of age and can live up to ten, twenty or thirty years depending on the species.
Nearly everyone is scared of snakes. The mere mention of their names sends shivers through the spine of many.
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Their potential to wreak havoc and take lives in a matter of minutes is horrifying. The cobra alone, kills tens of thousands of people every year. But wait a minute. We do even worse and horrendous things to the snake population. Just like many other creatures, they are victims of man’s encroachment-his need to provide for the ever growing population; a need that results in the destruction of animal habitats. Snakes are forced into roads where they are crushed by moving cars, or come in contact with people where they are killed on sight for the fear of being bitten. They are maimed, burnt, beheaded, shot, tortured and butchered. Boas, pythons and many beautiful snakes are hunted for their skins and meat. Some are removed from the wild and sold as pets.
Conclusion
Snakes do not see man as food (except maybe the biggest ones). They just want to survive but when we try to get in their way knowingly or unknowingly , we become victims. Keep your surroundings clean and tidy to give snakes no breathing space or convenient hiding area. By maintaining environmental hygiene, we rid ourselves of rodents that attract these slithery creatures. We as humans should recognize that snakes are a vital part of our ecosystem, both as prey and as predator. For any specie to go extinct means that there will be an upset in the delicate balance that nature has put in place. Let’s respect these reptiles and see them as a beautiful part of nature and the perfect predators.