It’s easy to forget when we spend our time in the company of likeminded people, such as on iNat, but a very significant proportion of the human population couldn’t give a hoot about the natural world. They simply don’t care to know why volcanoes erupt or rain falls, how plants photosynthesise or what butterflies eat. As long as they’ve got the latest phone and whatever type of fake nails are currently in vogue, then life is complete and none of these questions even enter their heads (I mean, who has time for that when you have to find out the latest goings-on in Johnny Depp’s life?).
In the last few days alone, on social media I have come across fully grown adults who couldn’t recognise a ladybug/ladybird and wanted to know if it was dangerous, one who was unaware that there are “different kinds of frog” in existence, and one who seemed genuinely shocked that modern technology still hasn’t found a way to get rid of insects from the planet. These are the people who compose our society, and once they’ve reached that stage, the problem is virtually beyond repair. Almost all children are interested in the natural world, and we have to find ways to stop that natural curiosity being lost so that they don’t transition into zombie adults utterly disconnected from the planet they life on.
10 Likes
Hello, yes I can relate very much. In my country there are only 2 families of venomous snakes, namely 4 species of viper and 3 species of Cobra (2 are very rare and one is not that common). Otherwise there are about 15 species of snakes which are non-venomous. Everywhere I go I try to spread the knowledge that most of the snakes we find in Egypt are non venomous and that their presence lessen numbers of rats, mice, geckos and other potential prey. I try to explain what a typical viper looks like and also the same with Cobra.
Sometimes people gaze at me emptily as if I did not say anything. Sometimes they are simply not convinced, but eventually some become interested to some extent. It used to irritate me but now I feel that it is my responsibility to spread the seeds of knowledge and water them but I cannot force anything to grow.
I have to say though that the overall knowledge and the number of interested young people have increased substantially over the last three decades. Perhaps we will not witness a total change but perhaps our children or grandchildren will. Nevertheless, this should not discourage us.
8 Likes
and then the iNat obs of - a snake - dead, or killed.
Annotate as dead as a mark of respect, and move on regretting yet another Dead Snake, what was it?
1 Like
Our Older Child (college student) talks about “spark” encounters—a person’s encounter with an organism that sparks one’s interest in nature or a particular species.
Even if snakes aren’t that family’s spark, maybe your knowledge about and compassion for the snake will model what is possible. Maybe an owl or hawk will land in their yard and they will realize they can gain knowledge about the natural world existing around them.
We are inspired by your actions. We also empathize with the sadness that accompanies seeing the disconnection between this family and the natural world.
9 Likes
I used to feel that way; but tbh I’ve had things in my own life occur where I realize I don’t care enough to learn about X topic. There’s a lot of things to learn about in the world, and no person has infinite time and energy to invest in learning about everything that impacts them.
as far as visceral reactions to animals: it happens. My brother is arachnophobic (always has been). I’ve got a really strong, learned, reaction to off leash dogs, particularly in groups. We can know it’s not always rational but actually countering it requires a non-trivial investment of time, energy, and money.
4 Likes
Agreed. If I had ever been attacked by a group of dogs, or was close to someone who had been attacked, I would likely have a strong reaction to seeing dogs running loose. I might not even want to have a dog. To me that’s a logical response to a negative experience. But I haven’t had any bad experiences with that animal so I don’t have that fear. Respect, as I would have for any unknown animal, but not fear.
Snakes are a somewhat different story. I’d guess the vast majority of people who have negative views of snakes have had virtually no experience with them. Some can be “converted” with a good experience but others will simply not be interested in gaining any experience. And unlike dogs, snakes can generally be avoided and ignored in most people’s lives.
3 Likes
All I can hope for is that I made a positive influence on at least a few of the 2 dozen or so elementary school kids when I relocated this cottonmouth from their school: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32869226
I didn’t know at the time, but there was at least one class watching me pick this snake up with a hook and placing it in a box. By the time I had the box closed, a gentleman-- one of the teachers or other staff member --came walking around the corning holding a hammer and license plate. I don’t know what his plan was but he was obviously relieved that I had arrived.
I did teach my uncle, who has a phobia of snakes, a thing or two after he mistook a speckled kingsnake for a copperhead and killed it. I didn’t raise my voice but he definitely got the message. Since then he calls me for snakes.
6 Likes
That’s an unfortunately very common attitude about a lot of things, not just learning about animals that someone is scared of or grossed out by.
1 Like
I read about a study done many years ago regarding attitudes of drivers towards snakes. Most of them would go out of their way to run over a (fake) snake. Some did that and then backed up to do it again. Kill it till it’s dead. I feel badly for snakes.
4 Likes
Its shocking, I grew to love snakes because of great mentors like Steve Irwin (god rest his soul).
5 Likes
I think most people have early negative impressions of snakes from stories, movies, TV , videos where they are depicted as dangerous and threatening.
When I was in second grade, A man visited our classroom and brought live snakes and reptiles to show us and tell us about them. And honestly, that experience of touching the smooth scales and seeing how gentle the boa constrictor was alleviated some of my bias against snakes. Later, I worked for a children’s science center and I was the person showing the snakes to children. Most kids were pretty receptive to the chance to gently stroke the scales and scutes. hopefully, these experiences helped alleviate any bias they may have had, also.
7 Likes
It’s shown that humans are great at spotting snakes even if they haven’t seen them before, snakes naturally are dangerous for primates, so fear of snakes is natural, but it’d be nice if it wasn’t leading to killing them.
4 Likes
I stay at a respectful distance, but I don’t see any of our snakes as primate predators. Their prey is more snails, lizards, mice.
1 Like
They’re deadly, I should change that word, there’re interesting findings about spitting cobras and humans, it seems it was crucial for humans to spot snakes and they were never particularly liked. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abb9303
1 Like
There is something called the Snake Detection Hypothesis (which I haven’t read up on much) that suggests we primates are hard-wired visually to detect snakes. I’m a little skeptical but would be interesting to demonstrate that there might be an instinctive fear – or at least alertness – to seeing a snake in the wild. I’ve always gone by the idea that fear of snakes has to be learned but more recent research seems to suggest otherwise.
3 Likes
Those of us familiar with our local snakes are probably not a good representation of how naive humans respond to a snake we would stumble upon in the wild. I can tell within a second or so if the snake I see racing through the brush in the Southwest US is something I can safely grab or not. That isn’t true in many parts of the world and I would not be so cavalier in unfamiliar places like Africa or Australia where my first thought would be potential danger. I tended to be pretty careful in the Southeast US where that water snake seen at night with a headlamp might actually be a water moccasin.
3 Likes
The problem is that for most people, that is true even outside the water moccasin’s range. The number of “water moccasins” sighted far outside the water moccasin’s range must surely rival the number of “brown recluse spiders” sighted far outside the brown recluse spider’s range.
4 Likes
Good point. There seems to be a fairly new internet-driven myth in the Southwest US that the dangerously venomous Mojave or Mojave Green Rattlesnake is expanding its range and can show up anywhere. Many sightings of Mojaves far out of the species’ range that are really Prairie Rattlesnakes. No idea how this myth got started. Granted, any rattlesnake is dangerous but the Mojave seems to generate more fear and loathing than most.
4 Likes
We get early lessons when hiking. Step carefully over logs. On a lovely sunny winter morning, expect to find a snake on the path and be prepared to keep your distance.
This is the only snake I have seen on my Cape Peninsula in the last 7 years of hiking. That’s. One. Snake, And his prey is a lizard, not much bigger than my hand’s length.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/20996653
I live in hope, not fear, of seeing more snakes.
3 Likes