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Hello, my name is Esther.
Welcome to my secret forest.
start from 2021
How Do Snakes Hunt?
When it comes to snakes, what will you come up with promptly? You may get goosebumps when you think of how lethal a snake may be, or simply have no feelings towards these species of reptiles. Well, as for me, I do think snakes are one of the attractive animals in the whole world. Snakes, also called serpents, are a kind of ectotherm distinguished by their limbless condition and significantly elongated bodies as well as tails. Speaking of this, you may wonder how snakes hunt their prey without hands and feet. To understand how snakes hunt, there are three steps on the following paragraphs.
First of all, snakes tend to choose a spot where their prey such as frogs and birds are likely to pass by. Since snakes are ectothermic, which means they obtain body heat from the environment, they thus crawl slowly and are not able to be active for long. Therefore, they usually choose spots next to rocks
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where other small like lizards sunbathe themselves, or next to ripe fruit trees where small mammals like rats or birds feed themselves. By choosing a spot where their prey possibly passes by, it is more convenient and helpful for snakes to hunt.
Secondly, snakes rely on both smells and infrared to locate where their prey is. In fact, snakes are smell-reliant hunters; therefore, they smell with their forked tongues rather than their noses.
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When they flick their tongues in and out, they can pick up chemical information such as which direction their prey is coming from. Some snakes also track their prey by sensing body heat, which is also called
infrared, and it is extremely helpful especially for
night-hunting snakes. With these two well-developed sensors, snakes are able to tell the distance, size, and shape of their prey.
Finally, venomous snakes tend to inject venom into their prey’s body while biting it ferociously, but on the other hand, non-venomous snakes simply squeeze their prey. Upon locating where their prey is, snakes would ambush for a while in order not to miss this important and delicious meal, and afterward they will sneak up on it secretly. Next, the venomous snakes usually inject toxins into their prey’s body from holes in the tips of their fangs, while other non-venomous snakes wrap their prey in a coil and squeeze it to die. In the end, snakes would swallow the prey directly without crushing it. In conclusion, a venomous snakes may use both venom and constriction to catch their food, while a non-venomous snakes are only able to use constriction to kill the prey.
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All in all, snakes are one of the mysterious reptiles in the world for me, because snakes tend to stay in the same spots to wait for their prey rather than chasing after it actively, because they are ectotherm, they cannot be vigorously for too long. Besides, they use their forked tongues mainly to locate their food instead of their noses or eyes. It is also amazing that there are two kinds of primary hunting methods for snakes to choose from, one is venom; the other is constriction, and they also swallow food entirely without crushing. To sum it up, by indicating these three steps of how snakes hunt, I hope that you may like snakes gradually.
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