Have you ever been afraid of snakes? Some people just can't stand thier forked tongues and scaly bodys. Native People of the Amozon fear the deadly Anaconda. Cobras are just as feared in Africa. But why?
People mostly fear poisonus snakes, like rattlesnakes and vipers. Both have large fangs, which injects poison into the wound were the snake bit. The bites of these snakes can be fatal. But what's the snake's side of the story?
The reason snakes bite people is just because they are afraid. In fact, snakes are more afraid of people then people are of them! Snakes try to stay away from people, but sometimes they're at the wrong place at the wrong time.
When people try to get the snake out of a place, the snake feels threatened. In fear, the snake might try to escape by facing the people, sometimes lashing out, poison fangs bared.
Poisonus snakes kill almost 17,000 people in India each year, but snakes are being killed by thousands and millions each year, sometimes without a reason. People in South America kill Anacondas, thinking they crawl into their huts at night and eat their children.
Some snakes are killed in America for snakeskin for boots, belts, and other objects.
The snakes are very useful for the environment. They eat rats and mice that eat grain, using thier excellent sight and smell to track down thier prey. Believe it or not, snakes use thier forked tongues to sample and smell air! But how do they move around?
Big snakes move around because of how thier undersides work. The undersides are made up of little plates. Each plate thrusts in the direction of the head, then slowly pulls the snake forward by going back to where it was.
Some snakes are endangered, and need to be preserved. Without these reptiles helping manage our environment, the planet would never be the same.