Our Fear of Snakes

To me there is almost something magical about the way snakes move. One has to admit a certain awesomeness to the way an animal without limbs can move so effortlessly across any surface. They slide over land, glide across water and slither up a tree as if hovering by some unseen force. Yet most people fear them, as if, the magic of snakes is an evil magic. For most westerners the fear may be ingrained in Bible stories and the garden of good and evil. Some fear them as predators which could leave you with a nasty scar or worse. Aside from that some people just find them creepy. I get that but I also think there is much to appreciate in snakes and I want to expose my own children to my appreciation and so I do, whenever I have the chance.

Whenever I do get to see a snake instead sounding an alarm or telling my kids to stay back I call my kids over to have a look. Our first task is to identify the snake which is usually easy enough as there are only a handful of different snake species in our immediate area. We take note of the snake’s habitat whether forest, in or along a creek or in our backyard. I ask them what they think the snake eats and what might eat it. I deliberately speak of the snake as a creature of beauty and strength hoping my own children will inherit some of the same wonder that snakes hold for me.

In that vein and, when possible, I will attempt to handle snakes so that my kids can get a closer look and even use their sense of touch. I realize that this is a wild animal and most people would probably advise against handling any wild animal and I have paid the price. Once my children watched as a I lost control of a black rat snake. While in my grip it turned and bit my thumb breaking my skin and causing a little bleeding. It hurt but the wound was little more than a superficial one. Even this, however, was a teachable moment for my children as I was able to show them proper first aid and cleaning of the wound and show them that a snake without fangs, like a black rat snake, does not do much more than cause an abrasion. Lesson learned. Be very careful handling a snake (best to leave them alone altogether) if you handle one at all.

Maybe it was our previous run in with a black rat snake that caused a frenzied reaction from my kids when we watched a one slide across our garage floor then climb the wall of our garage seemingly without effort. When my daughter asked me if I was going to try to get it out of our garage I reminded her that the last time I removed a black rat snake from the garage I found a rat living in the garage a few months later. Never will I force a rat snake from my yard they are way too useful.

Our fear of snakes, wherever it may come from, needs to be looked at more closely to see if our fear is really just a lack of knowledge about these amazing animals.