The underdogs
Dirty rat. Wolf at the door. Snake in the grass. It’s in the nomenclature. At best these animals are misunderstood. Mostly they’re maligned. Man attributes perceived characteristics of other species to his own kind – and then compounds the insult by passing reviled human characteristics back to those same animals.
From Genesis on down, snakes have gotten bad press, starting with that infamous Garden snake who handed all the ills of the world to Eve in the guise of an apple. Strange that we still hate snakes but love apples. The USDA estimates U.S. apple production in 2000 exceeded 10 billion pounds. That translates to more than 45 pounds per person per year.
Our prejudice against snakes is in our blood. When I lived in Washington, I frequented the snake house at the National Zoo, pressing my nose against the glass-cased exhibits while my daughter waited outside – she couldn’t even bear to come in. Yet a few steps away from the snake house we cooed over "cute" polar bears and tigers
These prejudices are irrational and much to the detriment of the animals. Some species are being driven to extinction by our prejudices. A practice in Florida has been to put explosives down gopher tortoise burrows to kill the rattlers, which of course killed all the occupants including gopher tortoises which are now a species of special concern.The fact is, diamondback rattlesnakes are infrequent visitors to these burrows which are commonly used by hundreds of other animals, especially in times of danger.
Eastern diamondback rattlesnake. Photos by Fran Palmeri.
Water Snakes are another group much at the mercy of man who kills for sport and often indiscriminately. New England has no venomous water snakes, yet snakes there are regularly killed, according to the Nature Conservancy.
Naturalists have often stood up for snakes. William Bartram called the rattlesnake "a wonderful creature when we consider his form, nature and dispostion" and reiterated what anyone who spends a lot of time outdoors knows. "He is never known to strike unless he is first assaulted or fears himself in danger…" wrote Bartram. And then he went on to tell of the "magnanimous" creatures who left him alone even when he was within striking distance.
Cottonmouth
The incomparable Archie Carr, whose centennial we celebrate this year, often stood up for the underdogs. "I want to speak on behalf of snakes. Snakes face the indifference or active antipathy of most of the human race," he wrote in "A Celebration of Eden." Archie found the eastern indigo to be a wonderful house pet. He called it "a natural born friend to man" but sadly man has not returned this regard. Snakes, he went on to say, are not known very well, and are misunderstood with few advocates. The indigo once common in the southeastern U.S. is a threatened species.
One’s attitude toward snakes depends on the culture one is living in at the time.When I lived in West Africa I saw far fewer that I would have thought. In Benin, dealing with a cobra who wandered into the yard for example was just a minor inconvenience. No need to call the pest control man – one called in the "fetisher" who arrived with a basket, talked to it, picked it up and took it away. Obviously he was used to these creatures.
I’ve gotten used to seeing the occasional snake. For me they’ve redeemed themselves. Or more correctly I’ve redeemed myself. It’s been a slow process. The first time I saw a snake in the wild I recoiled in fear, convinced it was going to go after me. Actually it is just the opposite. Given the opportunity snakes will always try to get away from you. Sometimes when I‘m hiking a trail, it feels like the Red Sea parting as creatures scatter right and left in front of me on the path. Knowing this helps break through the fear.
Now when I’m hiking, I look for them.The trick is to look ahead and be very very quiet. Occasionally they kindly consent to be photographed. But almost always they hear me coming and rustle off before I can get close enough to photograph or even observe them. Recently, a small beautifully patterned ribbon snake joined me for lunch at a park. He lay on the picnic table while I ate – probably enticed by my food which I declined to share.