It is Wednesday, my dudes: Snakes

 

Welcome, my dudes! Today marks the start of a weekly series of blog posts that will focus on amphibian/reptile-related content. I have always dreamed of having a career in herpetology, even as a child, and hope to pursue this passion in writing by educating my readers on all things herpetological through the discussion of how important these animals are to the environments they live in. If you're anything like me, you'll love learning about these incredibly fascinating creatures! 

While protecting animals and the environment has become "trendy" in recent years, most of these campaigns focus on charismatic megafauna such as elephants or big cats, and not enough attention is paid to reptiles and amphibians. "Herps", as they're collectively called, are often viewed with disgust, fear, or contempt (especially snakes). My goal is to educate readers, not only to eliminate these feelings of negativity, but also so that they may share what they've learned with others. Perhaps, little by little, the public's perception of herps will begin to change!

Stop Killing Snakes (Even the "Dangerous" Ones)

Snakes are undoubtedly one of the most feared groups of animals on the planet. The public's hatred of them is so severe that merely the word "snake" has a negative connotation in Western society, and it's become commonplace to attach this label to someone if you think they've wronged or betrayed you in some way. As it stands, the general apathy towards them has been responsible for the deaths of millions of snakes worldwide, and many are killed simply out of spite or hatred. This is damaging not just to snake populations, but also the ecosystems they inhabit. 

Image Credit: Charles Baker

Perhaps the most common reason people have for killing snakes is that they believe them to be "dangerous". I personally know someone that used to kill any snake they could find in their yard, simply because they thought they were going to hurt their dogs. Truthfully, most snakes could not pose a threat to anything larger than a mouse, even if they wanted to, and the few that do possess medically-significant venom will never strike unprovoked. Absurd tales of snakes hunting or even chasing people have been debunked over and over, yet many still believe them. If you learn anything from this post, let it be that a snake will not hurt you so long as you do not approach it (and most would still rather run than bite). 

Snakes from an Anthropocentric Perspective

One of the most common tactics employed by animal conservation groups to protect "less charismatic" species, is to explain how they are beneficial to humans. I could rant about how no living thing should need to have it's existence justified by simply being valuable to us, but that would be beyond the scope of this post. Regardless, snakes do provide a number of services that we unquestionably benefit from, such as preying on rodents, which are known to spread disease (see: Bubonic Plague). This also indirectly allows for better yields of crops, as mice and rats are known to feed on agricultural plants.

Another important benefit that you may not be aware of is that the venom of some snake species has pharmaceutical applications. The same substance that allows many snakes to hunt and kill prey could actually prove invaluable for saving lives. This biological toxin is a complex chemical mixture of enzymes/other proteins, and there is a fair amount of evidence suggesting that these compounds can be used to treat a variety of diseases, including cancers! When taking into account such a huge boon that snakes could provide to humankind, it seems silly to treat them with anything but respect. 

Snakes from an Ecological Perspective

In addition to the benefits they provide for humans, snakes are more important to the ecosystems they live in. You might think of each snake as being relatively the same, but did you know that there are actually over 3400 species of snakes in the world? This means that they occupy a similarly diverse number of habitats, and the absence of snakes would have catastrophic environmental consequences. 

Image Credit: Geoff Gallice

All snakes fill the ecological role of being predators and thus serve to keep the populations of their prey species in check. You probably remember learning in middle school science class that killing a predator can be harmful to the prey in the long run. By removing the predator, the prey populations are more likely to grow too rapidly, and overshoot the carrying capacity of their ecosystems. This in turn affects the overall meta food web. The same logic can be applied to snakes and their prey. 

Taking into account how important they are for our environment, any person with a semblance of care towards our planet should by association care about snakes. If you'd like to know more about what you can do to help protect snakes, this website would be a good place to start. I'd also encourage anyone with even the slightest interest in snakes to visit their nearest zoo (assuming they are kept there), so that they can be learned about in person!