Ophidiophobia: Why Fear the Awesome Snake?

One of the most well-known things about snakes is that a lot of people fear them. They’ve been symbols of danger for a very long time, one can have a legitimate phobia of them, and are generally seen as hostile and/or deadly creatures.

One reason for this might be because snakes seem rather alien. They have no limbs, and what’s more, they evolved that way, since more primitive snakes like boas have been known to have vestigial back legs in their skeletal structure. So snakes were animals that were better equipped to have no limbs; that’s just a freaky idea all on its own. They can also open their jaws far wider than a person, often bu un-hinging them (a process which can't help but sound painful) to swallow prey larger than their heads.

 Another thing is the venom issue, even though the majority of snakes aren’t venomous and in the venomous section even fewer pose threats to people, when people think of “snake” they are mostly likely to think of something venomous, or at least deadly like the large constrictors.

 Now, some snakes deserve this fearsome reputation. Take the Black Mamba: it’s one of the deadliest snakes in the world, its size (10-14 ft avg.) gives it a large striking range, and it’s so aggressive that snake expert Jack Seale calls it “death incarnate”. It’s common for villagers in Africa to kill them on site, but it has been known to take groups to accomplish the act safely.

 Several others, like the Saw-Scaled Viper, are dangerous due to their camouflage since people don’t notice the snake until they’ve stepped on it and likely been bitten. The Eastern Coral Snake, which can be found in my home state of Florida, is the ninth most venomous in the world, and yet they have a low mortality rate, possible due to being more noticeable than hiders like the Saw-Scaled Viper.

 It has been suggested that primates have an in-built fear of snakes. When I was in high school, I read about an experiment where a reticulated python was drugged asleep and various animals were put in a room with it. Birds hopped around close by, with some chickens even climbing on the snake itself. Rodents and other small mammals likewise ignored the snake or inspected it, heedless of its potential danger. Primates were put in the room and became hysterical. 

 So, is it really instinctual to fear snakes? Possibly, as I noted earlier on here, snakes were brought to my pre-school by a group who wanted us to not be over-scared of them, thus trying to deal with the fear when we were children, before it became ingrained. This is in stark contrast to my mother, who has stated that if I ever get a pet snake (despite the fact that I have expressed interest in only small, non-venomous species) then she will never visit me. 

 How logical is it to fear snakes? It really comes down to the species. I don’t need to be afraid of a king snake if I come across it, but I should be wary of a cobra, just like people shouldn’t fear a house-cat but should be careful around a puma. Snakes are more diverse than people give them credit for, and that, perhaps, is the biggest lesson of all about them.

Snakes aren’t a single entity; they have different forms and temperaments, and should be dealt with accordingly. Of course, even if you know it’s a non-aggressive species, the best option with non-pet snakes is still to leave them alone. Snakes my not deserve unconditional fear, but they still deserve our respect.