Article by Grant Smith
CAPE SNAKE CONSERVATION
Photo by Mark de Wet
L
ike birds of prey, leopards, otters, honey badgers
or any other predator, snakes have evolved tools
for hunting and for protection. Some snakes have
powerful muscles for constricting prey. Others use an
advanced apparatus to inject modified saliva, also
known as venom, into their prey to subdue and then
later digest it with.
Snakes DO NOT like to bite people.
Think about this: just because a human can kill a lion
with a venom-tipped weapon, doesn’t mean attack is
the best choice. We can’t eat lion, and even if we could
the chances are high that it would retaliate in defence
long before our venom had the chance to start working. Attacking it in this way, therefore, is too risky and
serves no purpose. So, if faced with two options –
avoid or attack – which would you choose? If I knew it
wouldn’t find me, I know what I’d do - hide!
However, if a person is trapped and the lion was about
to attack, the only way to stay alive may be to strike
first. We know our weapon won’t kill it straight away,
but wounding the animal may give us just enough a
chance to escape.
ting yourself in this position is a good way to think
about a snake’s position when a person is nearby. They
can’t eat us and, as the venom acts relatively slowly,
striking actually increases the risk to the snake because
of retaliation. Attacking a human, therefore, is too risky
and serves no purpose.
A snake will only ever bite as a last resort and out of
self-defence. Snakes want to stay alive just as much as
we do. Venom is precious; to produce it the snake
needs to use energy and resources. They will not waste
this unless they wish to eat or feel that their life is in
danger.
Still not convinced?
Below is a video which we believe illustrates this point
well. The aim is to convey the message that snakes seek
to escape before they attack. In the hundreds of Cape
cobras we have worked with, we have yet to come
across one that has attacked unprovoked and without
warning. Although the reaction is not one that we enjoy seeing, or hope to repeat, ultimately we are happy
to use this footage because we believe that it conveys a
powerful message for their preservation.
Remember: snakes also feel fear and experience
stress. To avoid conflict the best approach is to
leave them alone.
Video: https://youtu.be/fu9czc82NwI
www.capesnakeconservation.com