There are around 3,000 species of snakes in the world. Since their appearance during the age of the dinosaurs, they have adapted to many different lifestyles and evolved in many different and often peculiar guises. Of course, of the more than 600 species of poisonous snakes that we can find on Earth, there are only 200 that can cause real harm to humans, according to the World Health Organization.
It may not surprise you that one of the most common human fears is the healthy fear of snakes. We say “healthy” due to the fact that there are some species of snakes that are dangerous to humans . Some species can even be ugly to us, while others have beautiful patterns. Pretty pretty, all snakes are predators.
Snake attacks are not common occurrences in most urban areas, but when one of these dangerous snakes attacks, it can cause serious damage. Snakes that attack humans can end up killing someone – although the chances of this happening are small – and while most snakes deal with our rodent problem, it’s best not to go near them if you don’t have one. knowledge about them.
For many, snakes are terrifying regardless of whether they are dangerous or not. Even the smallest snakes can make us run in terror. As we said,fear of snakes is one of the most common phobiasHowever, many people have never seen a snake in person. Then,Where does this fear come from?
A study published in the journalPsychological Sciencesuggested that humans have developed an innate tendency to fear snakes, as well as spiders, and to learn to fear them.
Psychologists found that both adults and children could detect images of snakes among a variety of non-threatening objects more quickly than they could detect frogs, flowers or caterpillars. Researchers believe that this ability helped humans survive in the wild.
Of course, one thing that cannot be denied:once you get over your initial revulsion, snakes are truly beautiful creatures.Perhaps not in the way that a squirrel or delicate butterfly can conjure up, but they have a unique elegance and primitive charm that no other creature can match. In this gallery we have gathered some of the most striking, either because of their ferocity or because of the beauty of their colors.
