# I thought most animals were scared of snakes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 18, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728 "2016-06-18T21:18:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/1 "2016-06-18T21:18:49Z")
Hello Everyone, Is no secret that I’m not a fan of slithering things. To me, a good slitherer is a dead slitherer. However I watched one of our cats today engage a fairly small snake in our yard. It was all black with a yellow ring. As he toyed with the snake it bit him several times. Each time Mr. Kitty yelped, but continued engaging. I was finally able to get a shovel and get the snake away from the cat. Our cat is still alive so I’m guessing this wasn’t a venomous snake. So, I’ve always thought animals avoided snakes. I know cats are hunters, but you would have thought after being struck a few times Mr. Kitty would have retreated. Are cats not afraid of snakes? ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/2 "2016-06-18T21:25:02Z")
Crap, typo in the header. Mods could you fix please? Should say most, not midst. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/3 "2016-06-18T21:26:40Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > Crap, typo in the header. Miss cold you fix please? Should say must, not midst. Thanks Miss cold must, not midst??? 😕 😕 ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/4 "2016-06-18T21:28:45Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Miss cold must, not midst??? > > 😕 > 😕 I fixed that too! Old eyes, big fingers and auto correct. Bad combo. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/5 "2016-06-18T21:35:05Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > I fixed that too! Old eyes, big fingers and auto correct. Bad combo. :smack: As long as it’s not me going senile . . . ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/6 "2016-06-18T21:52:05Z")
A cat will kill and eat a snake if it can. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/7 "2016-06-18T21:54:16Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > However I watched one of our cats today engage a fairly small snake in our yard. It was all black with a yellow ring. Around the neck [like this](https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/reptiles/images/sringneck.jpg)? If so, ringneck snake - completely harmless unless you are an earthworm or the like. > [@](#): > > So, I’ve always thought animals avoided snakes. Nope. Or rather not entirely. On the one hand quite a few critters regularly make a meal of snakes. On the other there does seem a genetic factor to avoidance of certain patterns/colors, as was demonstrated with birds and coral snake models. And while fearing snakes is definitely a learned behavior in primates ( monkeys kept in zoos that have never seen one aren’t automatically afraid ), it does seem to be a fear that is learned _very easily_ just by watching other monkeys react. So some critters will avoid some/all snakes, learned behavior or otherwise. But others regularly hunt them. Like this [Sand Cat](http://www.reddevboard.com/wp-content/uploads/cache-280f60b13800461f29b87eba49a26f5e/2016/02/These-Arabian-sand-cats-are-really-tough.jpg), which will happily prey on venomous snakes ;). ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/8 "2016-06-18T21:55:11Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > As long as it’s not me going senile . . . Not mutually exclusive. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/9 "2016-06-18T23:14:20Z")
The honey badger is famously unafraid of snakes. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/10 "2016-06-18T23:33:56Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > Crap, typo in the header. Mods could you fix please? Should say most, not midst. Thanks Fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/11 "2016-06-19T00:09:57Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > The honey badger is famously unafraid of snakes. And I’ve heard rumors about the mongoose. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/12 "2016-06-19T00:15:12Z")
I’ve known plenty of cats that hunted snakes. No poisonous snakes in my area so they are rather successful. My uncle used to train hunting dogs, he specifically had to train them to be afraid of snakes(or at least leave to them alone). Hawks and eagles like eating snakes. Plenty of other snake eating predators too. Snakes have it kinda rough. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/13 "2016-06-19T01:13:43Z")
Cats and dogs will hunt grass snakes avidly, in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/14 "2016-06-19T02:25:36Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > The honey badger is famously unafraid of snakes. The honey badger’s badass. Honey badger don’t give a shit. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/15 "2016-06-19T02:30:13Z")
I had a rat in my wood pile that would kill and eat any snake he thought he could handle. He was a good judge of size and his ability. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/16 "2016-06-19T03:13:02Z")
A predisposition to be afraid of snakes seems to be just a primate thing. Although it’s possible mice, other small rodents, and small birds might have an instinct to be afraid of snakes; I don’t think anyone has checked. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/17 "2016-06-19T06:00:11Z")
I’ve always thought that horses were instinctively afraid of snakes (or at least, otherwise, it’s something they all learn early). Horses, I’ve read, are also instinctively afraid of ostriches, apparently because the long neck looks snaky to them. If you have a horse ranch next door to an ostrich ranch (I’ve heard of that happening), you have to train the horses to not be afraid of the ostriches. I wonder what happens when a horse meets a giraffe? Lewis Carroll advises us that [pigeons also dislike serpents, and little girls with long necks](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland_%281907%29/Chapter_5). (See pics in the bottom half of the page.) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/18 "2016-06-19T06:05:12Z")
Badgers and mongoooses especially will tear the living shit out of snakes. (The latter will slay a King Cobra and still have enough energy left to run a marathon. Ever read _Rikki Tikki Tavi_? Lesson: don’t fuck with badgers. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/19 "2016-06-19T08:24:10Z")
Horses are afraid of every damn thing. Horses are afraid of a fence that is now painted a new color. They will shy away from things that are invisible. And yet, they will walk right up to within striking distance of a poisonous snake, and then you have to inch them away, backwards. Unless the thing rattles; then they will jump sideways, giving you a good opportunity to fall off and land on it. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728/20 "2016-06-19T14:53:03Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Around the neck [like this](https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/reptiles/images/sringneck.jpg)? If so, ringneck snake - completely harmless unless you are an earthworm or the like. > > Nope. Or rather not entirely. On the one hand quite a few critters regularly make a meal of snakes. > > On the other there does seem a genetic factor to avoidance of certain patterns/colors, as was demonstrated with birds and coral snake models. And while fearing snakes is definitely a learned behavior in primates ( monkeys kept in zoos that have never seen one aren’t automatically afraid ), it does seem to be a fear that is learned _very easily_ just by watching other monkeys react. > > So some critters will avoid some/all snakes, learned behavior or otherwise. But others regularly hunt them. Like this [Sand Cat](http://www.reddevboard.com/wp-content/uploads/cache-280f60b13800461f29b87eba49a26f5e/2016/02/These-Arabian-sand-cats-are-really-tough.jpg), which will happily prey on venomous snakes ;). What’s the current thinking about such genetic, “evolutionary” fear/loathing of snakes among humans? I think I remember seeing that being kicked around. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-most-animals-were-scared-of-snakes/757728.md?page=2)