Ssssstay Sssssafe On World Sssssnake Day
Today, July 16, is World Snake Day.
Yep, Snake Day.
In the immortal words of Indiana Jones, "Why did it have to be snakes?"
According to Daysoftheyear.com, "World Snake Day is an important day when it comes to increasing awareness about the different species of snakes all around the world.
"Snakes tend to have a negative connotation. A lot of people are scared of snakes, and of course, we can definitely understand the reasons why! No one likes the thought of being gobbled up by a snake, do they? Plus, when someone is two-faced or a bad person, they are often referred to as snakes."
Aside from countries like India and Australia, snakes generally get a bad rap.
In the United States, only about eight people a year die from venomous snake bites per year, just barely more than the number of people killed by bears (6), sharks (5) or even vending machine accidents (2).
Still the thought of being struck and poisoned by a snake is terrifying to most of us.
Plus, although most people don't die by snake bites (thanks to modern medicine) around 7,000 people are envenomed (yes, that's a word) every year by the slithery creatures and many of those suffer tissue damage and long-term effects from the bites.
By the way, Texas leads the nation in number of snake bites per capita, followed by North Carolina, Virginia, Florida and Louisiana.
Utah, did not make the top 20.
So on this World Snake Day, be grateful you live in Utah and maybe take a moment to learn a bit more about the scaly, squirmy, slithery snake
- Where do snakes live?Snakes are found in every continent except Antarctica in the sea, forests, deserts, prairies, and even your backyard or garage.
- What do snakes eat?
Snakes consume many different animals including insects small rodents and frogs. Snakes eat their prey whole because their lower jaw can separate from the upper jaw. Very large snakes can even eat small deer, pigs, monkeys, and even primates.
- How do snakes behave?
Snakes rely on the environment to regulate their body temperature. They spend as long in the warm sun as they need to in order to get warm, and when they become too warm, they find shade to cool off. They are generally not aggressive unless they are hunting or feel like they need to defend themselves. They shed their skin three to six times a year.
- How do they defend themselves?
Snakes use a variety of techniques defend themselves, including camouflage, biting and envenoming those they feel are threatening them. Sometimes they simply curl up in a tight ball to hopefully avoid being seen.
- Why are some snakes endangered?
Fortunately, snakes are not widely hunted, but their numbers are still declining due to deforestation and climate change causing the deterioration of their habitats and a declining amount of available prey.
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Gallery Credit: Stacker
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