Snakes freak us out! These are not one of those living creatures that make us go ‘aww’. But for herpetologists, these reptiles are really fascinating.
The World Snake Day is observed on the 16th of July. And you don’t need to take a selfie with a snake and post on it on Instagram to celebrate it. Herpetologists and other conservationists across the globe try to improve people’s views about this beautiful reptile on this day.
Whether it’s about luring a woman to eat a fruit leading to the downfall of human beings, or eating human beings as shown in Anaconda movies or to perhaps comparing them to your ex, snakes have been portrayed in quite a negative light. Of course the Indian Television went a bit too far in portraying these reptiles!
According to National Geographic, there are over 3000 species of snakes in the world. And these reptiles are found everywhere except Antarctica, Iceland, Ireland, Greenland and New Zealand. (So now you know where to go if you want to stay away from them). Out of those 3000 species only about 600 are venomous. Interestingly, only 200 of the snakes can kill or wound a human being.
According to herpetologist Romulus Whitetaker, habitat loss is a major threat that the snakes around the world have been facing today. The key to make space for these reptiles without inflicting harm on ourselves is the knowledge about them.
On World Snake Day, we can safely say that human-snake conflict has been threatening the snake population across the planet . Despite the ‘negative’ connotations, snakes play a significant role in the food chain by being predators as well as preys.
Do not miss out on this list of Venomous Snakes of Northeast India on Discover East.
(Feature image source: Science)
