02/27/2023
Misunderstanding of Snakes
Snakes... Perhaps one of the most misunderstood animals in America. When people see a snake, their first reaction is to panic with fear, grab the nearest shovel, and chop it’s head off. Yet, humans do not do this with any other animal they find in the wild. Why is this? Humans over the years have been fed wrong information for many generations. Instead of educating ourselves with facts, we rely on myths and fairy tales. Such as; snakes will chase you, baby snakes can’t control their venom, and triangular head means venomous.
A snake's first reaction to seeing you is to try and retreat. This may in fact be straight between your legs. This is the reason why people may say they have been chased by a snake when they were actually victim to a snakes bad sense of direction. Additionally, adult and baby snakes CAN control their venom. A snake generally does not want to inject their venom into a predator, such as a human or a dog. This can sometimes result in what we call a “dry bite” where no venom is released. Humans are much larger and a snake will attempt to give a person many defensive signs before striking as a last result. Snakes see humans as a threat and will never attempt to attack unprovoked. Venomous snakes only want to use their venom on smaller animals such as rodents, frogs, and lizards. Unfortunately, there are still cases where humans are injected by venom due to a snake bite. This can be the result of stepping on a venomous snake that was not seen or even being bitten while attempting to kill the venomous snake. Lastly, all snakes can make their head triangular as a defensive posture. Many snakes will flatten themselves out to attempt to look bigger, thus resulting in their head to appear triangular. This can easily cause confusion and should not be the only identifiable feature you use when you see a snake. These are only a few of many established misconceptions that revolve around snakes.
Those of us that love and follow everything about snakes have to hear and see these myths time and time again. We also have to hear people who refuse to educate themselves about snakes verbally express things such as:
“The only good snake is a dead snake”
“Burn the whole house down”
“I don’t care what it is, I’m chopping its head off”
“All snakes are bad”
Many of these comments on social media are followed by laughing emojis as if they think they are the first bonehead to say that joke. In fact, these comments are said multiple times on a daily basis by ignoramus people. The majority of these people refuse to be educated due to fear or lack of compassion and It becomes an illimitable battle for us snake lovers.
Snakes are the only animal that people will kill, chop the head off, then have their kids hold the headless animal on social media to ask if it’s dangerous. Imagine the backlash you would receive if you did this for any other animal. Especially a domestic dog, which is statistically far more likely to kill you than a snake in America. This type of behavior has been accepted with snakes over the years and it must be reversed through education. If you call yourself an animal lover you should appreciate and respect all animals including the ones that can hurt you. You cannot preach about loving and rescuing animals, but then go and mutilate a snake and watch it die a long-suffering death. Join Facebook groups that involve snakes in your area, read books, visit a reptile center, and learn about them before you start deciding their fates. Stop letting fear and the unknown cause you to make rash decisions that will end the lives of these important animals!
We want to teach and help you see that there is nothing to fear when it comes to that snake passing by your yard. As well as show you the immense number of resources that are available regarding snake education and removal. Many of these resources will even be free! Snakes are arguably the most misunderstood animals and we are emotionally drained by seeing our favorite animals chopped in pieces every single day that we scroll through social media. A great first step in the right direction would be to join snake identification groups in your area on social media. These groups can identify snakes in a very timely manner as well as educate and walk you through the entire process.
If you have read this far, I thank you and appreciate your time. Myself and others like me can ramble on about this subject all day. So please for the sake of the snakes and snake lovers, put that shovel down and start the learning process. Use your available resources before making that terrible decision! Be inspired to teach others so that we can all collaborate to stop the unnecessary killing of snakes and start building a more pro snake future! 🐍
-Hunter Barnett
Georgia Snake Hunter
Photo Credit: Cheri Sennett Rice
Eastern Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula)
