Happy World Snake Day!!! snake Chinese Zodiac: Snake emote Snake emoticon Santa’s Little Helper Kaa avatar 2 Slytherin Crest icon 1 CHAT FRIENDLY BallPythonFamiliar RedTailedBoaFamiliar Snake on the rod
 
Today’s all about the world’s most unique reptile ever - Ssssssnakessss! World Snake Day is celebrated every year on July 16 to raise awareness about the different types of snake species and the important role they play in maintaining ecological balance.
 
Snakes are among the few the very few vertebrate animals that are limbless, as in have not legs. This makes them very unforgettable. Despite their legless anatomy, they can get around by slithering on their bellies. They can even “smell” with their tongues; they gather scent particles with their forked tongues and anaylze them with a tiny organ in the roof of their mouths called the Jacobson’s Organ. Some species have sensory pits on their snouts in order to detect heat from other animals. All snakes are carnivorous, and most prefer small animals, such as lizards, frogs, small birds and mammals. This has made them favorite animals for farmers as they will hunt mice and rats that threaten crops and grain stored in mills. Nonetheless, there are very large species of snakes, collectively known as constrictors. These snakes hunt large animals, such as deer, bovids, wild pigs, and even crocodilians. And the largest snake to ever roam the earth, Titanoboa, grew at a terrifying 42 feet (12.8 meters) in length. All snakes don’t have external ears, and thus can’t hear airborne sounds easily. They do have internal ears, and can feel vibrations and may hear low-frequency airborne noises. There are about 3,458 species of snakes, ranging from the semi-frozen tundra of northern Canada to the steamy jungles of the equator and the world’s oceans. These unique reptiles are highly effective predators and play a vital role in maintaining the balance of nature in each of these realms.
 
There are venomous and nonvenomous snakes. Most species are nonvenomous, and kill their prey either through swallowing or by constriction. The largest snake species are constrictors, which include boas and pythons. They hunt large prey by wrapping them in coils, give them a lethal squeeze until the victims are suffocated to death, and then the snakes swallows them whole. Fortunately, the size of the prey takes a long time to digest, so it would take weeks or months until the constrictors will hunt again. Venomous snakes, which make up less than 25% of the suborder Serpes, mostly use their venom to subdue their prey, and never attack people on an aggressive whim. Regardless, some snakes possess venom potent enough to cause painful injury or death to humans. There are three families of venomous snakes. Elapids are snakes that characterized by their hollow, fixed, relatively short fangs in the front of the upper jaw, and while they account for less than one in 10 of the world’s snakes, they are all venmous, with some species regarded as some of the deadliest species. Members of this family are coral snakes, mambas, sea snakes, tiger snakes, taipans, brown snakes, death adders, and cobras. Viperids are snakes with long, unhinged fangs that swing to the front of the mouth, and include American copperheads, cottonmouths, adders, bushmasters, sidewinders, rattlesnakes, and vipers. Vipers and their relatives earned their named for most of them being viviparious, able to give live birth, unlike most snakes which lay eggs; boas are also viviparious despite not being related to vipers. And there are some species of the typically nonvenomous Colubrids, rear-fanged snakes, that are venmous, like boomslangs and vine snakes. One nonvenomous Colubrid has a unique defense mechanism. The milksnake mimics the coloration, markings, and behavior of the venomous coral snake, an Elapid, in order to discourage predators. Despite the similarities, the colored pattern of the milksnake is not the same as the coral snake’s. There is even a little rhyme that helps people differentiate between the two species - “Red and black, friend of Jack. Red and yellow, killed the fellow.”
 
Of all the animals, snakes are considered the most maligned species in human culture, even of Biblical proportions. In the Book of Genesis, a serpent (the devil in disguise in Christianity) tempted Adam and Eve into disobeying God, and was condemned by becoming limbless, slithering on its belly, and being persecuted by humanity. The Ancient Greeks concocted a rogue’s gallery of monsters with serpentine attributes: Typhon and his wife Echidna, and some of their horrifying offspring bore snake elements: The multiheaded serpents, the Hydra and Ladon, and the snake-tailed Chimera and Ceberus. The most iconic Greek monsters that were associated with snakes are Medusa and the Gorgons, who bore hair of living snakes. Anyone foolish enough to look directly at them were instantly turned to stone. The deadliest creature is the Basilisk, which is regarded as the “King of Serpents.” It was so poisonous it polluted the air and water it drank with its venom, and so much as touching or looking it in the eye would kill you. And when it would hatch a cock’s egg, the hatched offspring would be the half-poultry, half-dragon monster, the Cockatrice, which would inherit the Basilisk’s poisonous powers. Literature depicted snakes unjustly as well; in Harry Potter, the villain of the series, Voldemort, was part of Slytherin house, which its mascot was a snake, he spoke in Parseltongue, the language of snakes, he bred a Basilisk, and one of his Horcruxes was a snake named Nagini. Films and television shows also feature snakes in an unfavorable light, from horror movies of killer snakes (Anaconda) to serpentine humanoids (the Snakemen from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe), to having heroic snakes switch their roles to villainous ones (Kaa from Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book). All of these negative connotations of the snake are possibly connected to a fear of snakes, Ophidiophobia. It is regarded as the most common of reptilian-based fears. The snake’s legless anatomy, unnerving hissing sounds, and the existence of venomous species scares many people (and ponies too apparently), and inspires hatred towards them as well. Some studies do show that while we are not innately afraid of snakes, but we can learn to fear them quickly. Scientists have found that babies are very good at detecting snakes and have a strong tendency to become afraid of snakes even if they just looked at negative pictures of snakes in the media. It is likely that this fearful behavior came from our primate ancestors, who were most likely hunted by snakes for millions of years, becoming a symbol of death built into our unconscious minds as a result of our evolutionary history.
 
Despite the negative imagery the snake got throughout human history, they were revered in some cultures and mythology as gods and goddesses, such as in Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Mesoamerica, Hinduism. West African and Australian Aborigine mythologies depict benevolent Rainbow Serpents. Hindus and the Hopi saw the cobra and rattlesnake as the king of snakes respectively. The Snake is one of the twelve celestial animals of the Chinese zodiac. Snakes are also symbols of fertility and immortality. And while seen as a harbinger of death, the snake is also regarded as a healer. The two Greek gods, Hermes and Asclepius, wielded snake entwined staffs that would become the symbols of modern medicine: the Caduceus and the Rod of Asclepius. Like bats and vultures, they play an important role for the ecosystem. As mentioned earlier, snakes can be excellent pest control animals for farmers, and several compounds from snake venoms are being researched as potential treatments or preventatives for pain, cancers, arthritis, stroke, heart disease, hemophilia, and hypertension, and to control bleeding. And in recent events, snakes have become popular pets, heroes in stories and movies (Craig from Nickelodeon’s Sanjay and Craig, and Viper from Dreamwork’s Kung Fu Panda), and internet sensations. But we must remember that they are still feared and despised. While they are threatened by many of the same issues that affect all wildlife (habitat loss, climate change, and disease), our negative attitudes toward all snakes may be the biggest barrier to their conservation because it often impedes efforts to address other threats. So do your part by spreading positive messages about snakes. I know Fluttershy would. Fluttershy’s Cute Face Emoticon Icon
 
 
Now that we’re done with that lengthy description, let’s get down to the pic submitted for the occasion. Here are all the snakes that appeared in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic! First, we have the three snakes from “Winter Wrap-Up”, including Rupert. Then we have some cobras who Daring Do’s tangled with. And then there’s Antoine the Python from Fluttershy’s Sweet Feather Sanctuary. They are all honored to have all taken part in a show that teaches us we can make friends with anycreature, no matter what they are. And hopefully, even those spooky cobras got some wonderful friend. And oh, look who’s also slithered in on the celebration: Sir Hiss from Disney’s Robin Hood. I think he’s looking for a friend too, since his last one was a lioncub jerk of a false king, Prince John, who would turn a deaf ear to his serpentine aide, and then blame him when he was beaten by Robin Hood. It would’ve been something if I also snuck in Viper, since she was not only a positively depicted snake, but she was just as sweet and compassionate as Fluttershy. As for the location I think you would recognize it since I left a couple of hints. ;) (Wink)
 
Snakes by me
 
Background by me
 
I hope you all enjoy this. And I also hope you show some love for our hissy, slithering neighbors. For far too long these reptiles have had a bad rep longer than their body length. Here’s to the snakes! Be a #snakehero and Happy #SnakeDay Heart
 
To learn more about Snake Day and how you can celebrate it, go to this site: www.daysoftheyear.com/days/wor…