I would be afraid of dogs, for, as I
would say, they had teeth and could bite, but snakes didn't appear to
have any and for that reason perhaps remained my best friends.
Field Work Notes:
Snakes
There are around 2500 species of snakes in the world. Of these, only
about 15% are poisonous. The maximum number of species of poisonous
snakes is found in Australia (90% of the snakes are poisonous).
238 species of snakes are found in India. Of these, 72 are poisonous.
But only few can cause serious or fatal bites. For example, Pit Vipers
are poisonous but rarely prove fatal to human beings. The poisonous Big
Four are (1) the Cobra, (2) the Krait, (3) the Russel's Viper, and (4)
the Saw-Scaled Viper. Of these the most poisonous is the common Krait.
Its venom is about four times more toxic than that of the Cobra.
All sea-snakes are poisonous. The most poisonous snakes in the world
include some sea-snakes which have venom 5 times more toxic than the
Cobra. But sea-snakes will bite only when severely provoked and are
never known to attack swimmers in water.
Snakes are cold-blooded; their eyesight is very poorly developed and
they have no eyelids. They are deaf and can only respond to vibrations.
They taste, feel and smell with their forked tongue. These senses are
very well developed and enable them to differentiate between living and
dead creatures, prey or enemy.
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