SNAKE! part one

                                                                                  


 I would wager that yelling "Snake!" in a crowded theater would yield the same chaotic results as yelling "Fire!" or "He has a gun!".

 German professor and priest, Martin Luther, (1483-1546) was quoted to say: "Snakes and monkeys are subjected to the demon more than other animals. Satan lives in them and possesses them. He uses them to deceive men and injure them". Of course I think this is nonsense, but the story of Adam and Eve and proclamations like this from a (then) figure of authority certainly didn't help the snakes reputation, or monkeys for that matter. 

Psychological studies have shown that when adults and children were shown images of a snake surrounded by objects of similar colors, such as frogs, flowers and caterpillars, both groups were able to identify the snake faster than any other object. These and many other recorded studies suggest that humans and other animals such as birds and rodents have evolved to have a predisposition to fear snakes, simply for the need to survive. After all, snakes were here long before we came on the scene.

Out of the 35+ gibbon apes that were living at IPPL when I worked there, all but 4 were born in captivity. The 4 old-timers that were wild caught as infants over fifty years ago had been inside laboratory buildings for their entire lives until they retired to IPPL. Interestingly, all of the gibbons reacted with the same intensity of alarm and fear when a snake was spotted, which again suggests that the fear of snakes is ingrained in our DNA, and not necessarily entirely learned behavior. 

                                                                                 



 I get it. Snakes can be creepy. They move, sometimes very fast, without the use of legs; They have a tendency to suddenly appear unexpectedly; And when threatened, some will bite you, sometimes with devastating results.

I think its also the perceived unpredictability of them that can cause a grown man to loose all composure. But like with anything else, the more you know about something, the less fear you will have.


In part two, I would like to write about why we should try to overcome this powerful urge to freak out when we encounter a snake, and hopefully dispel some of the myths and stereotypes about these amazing animals. 

Thanks for reading.



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