Came home from lunch and found a two foot snake lazily sunning itself on my retaining wall.
My first jolt of fear was a surprise. It’s amazing how powerful the urge to run like hell is buried deep in our genetic code. My mind knows it can’t leap seven feet in the air and sink its fangs in me. But that chill down my spine says otherwise. There’s something very primitive and old in man’s fear of reptiles and especially snakes.
I carefully walked on into the house. Mr. snake can have the retaining wall and the sun. I know it will slither away for a meal of insects soon enough.
Live and let live is my motto. The snake can live in my yard, but I prefer not seeing it.
We went to see a reptile museum this summer - I don’t have a particular problem with snakes or reptiles, but there was a point when that Far Side cartoon (the cumulative attack of the willies for the guy who worked in the reptile area of the zoo) became more understandable. Piles of snakes, snakes in water, snakes everywhere…
Hey, funny anecdote from that visit - the owner and his daughter where having a discussion. The daughter (about 17, I’d say) was supposed to feed the dead rabbit to the large alligator - he was just hanging out, not doing much, but when the rabbit came around, he CHARGED at the door of his enclosure. The daughter was concerned (because there was a very large alligator on the other side of the door, very alert and intent on getting a meal), but the dad said, “Just throw it in quickly and slam the door.” As I said to my husband as we overheard this, “No, YOU throw it in quickly and slam the door.” Sheesh.
My sentiments slither parallel to yours. Usually I’ll do anything to keep from disturbing a snake unless it’s venomous and in a public setting where someone’s likely to get bit. They’re beautiful and oft times very beneficial at keeping the rodent population down. Nevertheless, most of the time it scares the everlovin’ crap out of me when I first see one, especially when it’s very close and catches me off guard. I can think of a half dozen times in the wild when that adrenaline rush and the quick reaction it provided was probably what kept me from getting bit.
I dunno. I love snakes, I think they are super neat critters. I love it when I spot them outdoors, just slithering around and doing their snake things. Cool as hell.
Yeah, small snakes are cool and not scary. But it would be strange if I was afraid of them, because my girlfriend owns one and I see it almost every day.
Yeah, another person who loves snakes here- most really little kids aren’t scared of them either- I used to do reptile handling sessions. It was only when someone else freaked out about them that little ones did, as a general rule.
I believe research had indicated people come sort of ‘primed’ for the fear of snakes- it’s a very easy fear to get, but a lot of people never develop it at all. I’ve watched my parents chase a black mamba, just trying to get a good look as the snake scarpered, terrified… I didn’t exactly grow up in an atmosphere where fear of any animal was catered to or expected.
Agreed, children mirror the behavior of the adults around them, even in their reaction to animals. I’ve found that a vocal fear of snakes is more prevalent in areas of lower socioeconomic status, and more in women than men. So when I go to a school in a working class neighborhood (I’m a zoo educator) I definitely think hard about whether to bring a snake or not. If my curriculum demands it, then, of course, I do, but I might bring our smaller, less wiggly ball python, rather than the 6ft rainbow boa. Then, if the class teacher is a woman (which is around 99% of the time) I will try and sound her out while I’m setting up, and, if she professes a fear or dislike for any of the animals I’ve brought, I’ll ask her to keep her reactions very quiet. Reminding teachers that they don’t need to visit their fears on the children in their care is sometimes eye-opening for everyone.
My subconscious missed out on the “fear of snakes” day in orientation. I have a healthy respect for them, but I will not hesitate catching them, because I think they’re amazingly cool.
On the other hand, I took my class out to a local lake last week to do some water quality sampling, and there was a rather massive fishing spider on top of one of the dock pilings. It was fascinating to watch ten fully grown humans scoot ever so carefully around the piling, giving absolute maximum berth to the really pretty harmless little guy.
I seem to recall reading somewhere, some time, that you could condition a monkey to fear a flower if you wanted to. However, it was much harder than conditioning the same monkey to fear a snake.
My office was in a tizzy the other morning because the receptionist had been scared by a snake before leaving the preceding evening. It had disappeared while she went to find a box to trap it under. It was said to be at least two feet long. Later in the day she shrieked that it was back – there! In back of that file! I moved the file and all I could see was a little dustball about an inch across; no, wait, yes, it was a curled up little garter snake trying to make its poor self as small as possible. It was about 1/4 the diameter of a pencil in girth and would have been at most a foot long, probably less, if it were stretched out. I got a plastic bag, inverted it over the critter and set it free in the woods in back to live out its days, hopefully, eating actual prey. Silly women! Oh, wait, I am a woman. And the boss, who is of the male persuasion, thanked me very much (with a barely disguised shudder) for taking care of it.
If I see a snake when out, I jump from the prickly chill that runs up my spine. I agree, it makes no sense, but there you have it. A snake in the wild gets my full, uncalled for fear and attention.
Same thing with spiders. Such a tiny creature can send me running if I have even the merest sense that it is on me.
Somehow, this instance didn’t cause my head to explode, but if that spider were a snake, it probably would have.
I’ve run across snakes (literally) during my afternoon runs before. If I see them ahead of time I’ll slow and watch them do their thing. I love it.
On the occasions that I don’t see them with enough warning - and I’ve very nearly stepped on them from time to time - I have been known to perform some combination of screaming, jumping ridiculously high in the air, and making erratic drunken lurches in random directions while mid-stride to attempt to avoid the innocent snake. Despite the laws of physics I do seem able to change direction mid-air. This amuses anyone running with me to no end. The adrenaline rush usually results in a faster-than-average split for the next mile as well.
I still recall a roadside stop in Arizona. They had rattlesnakes in these glass boxes. They looked like fish aquariums. They had signs up warning people not to tap on the glass or irritate the snakes because a strike “might” break the glass.
Seeing snakes like that doesn’t bother me. Nor do tiny garter snakes. Seeing one unexpected in the yard or woods, that’s pretty large gets my adrenaline going. That fight or flight reflex.
Spiders don’t bother me. We don’t have those big South American ones like they show on tv. I admit one big as a baseball would scare me.
A timely topic- saw about a 12 foot python (thick around as the top of a baseball bat) in the road as I was leaving Everglades National Park last week. Now THAT will wake you up and get your blood pumping!
I saw a snake myself, just a week ago. Little two or so foot garter snake sunning himself on the steps in front of my office. My heart leaped into my throat and I dashed inside yelling “Hey, who wants to come out and see this awesome snake on the steps!!??!!” I got a whole lot of nothing, so I went back out and poked his tail to scare him off, just in case someone with an irrational fear of harmless animals decided to dispatch him.
I, too, have no problem with snakes. In fact, they’re one of my favorite animals.
On the other hand- I am ashamed to admit- my reaction to that picture was not, “Wow, what a beautiful specimen, isn’t nature amazing”, but “HOLY F-!!!” I’m perfectly okay holding centipedes, and if a bee flies in the room I’ll just ignore it, but for some reason spiders make me nervous.
I was mowing the lawn for the second time in our new place last Friday when a black snake hightailed it (so to speak) out of the grass into our bushes, next to the house. I was pleased and excited to know that a close neighbor would be so accommodating as to take up space in our back yard to help keep the rodent population down for us, free of charge.
Now when I told my wife about it, she was a little less excited than I. Growing up in Ireland, she hasn’t had much exposure to snakes, I guess.
The snake can live in my yard, but I prefer not seeing it.
