Sneaky Snakes

Snakes. Just the mention of the word can send chills up the spine or send one fleeing in the opposite direction. To some they are just scary, slithery, sinister serpents. However, they are also sneaky. Yes, sneaky. The serpent has been known for its sneakiness since the beginning. Remember Eve? It was because of the sneaky sales pitch of the serpent that Eve "bought", Adam "bit" , and they were both "booted out" of the Garden of Eden. Oh yes, snakes can be extremely sneaky, and can show their craftiness in a variety of ways.

The American Copperhead is a great example of a cunning culprit. This snake has a rust and copper colored body with dark crisscrossing bands. It has a bright copper colored head, hence the name, Copperhead. This snake is easily recognizable, that is if you see it. Because of the snake's markings, they are easily hidden. Let this snake curl up on a pile of fallen leaves and you may never even know it was there. Pretty slick huh? But that's not all. These snakes learn how to be masters of guile at a very early age, as a matter of fact from the moment they are born. The baby Copperhead is born with a yellow tipped tail which it uses to lure unsuspecting prey. The juvenile snake hides beneath the leaves and sticks its wiggling tail up. The tail, resembling a grubworm, attracts moles, mice, and other such rodents. When the small mixed-up mammals take the bait, the clever Copperhead enjoys his dinner.

Besides being deceitful for dinner, snakes also use their misleading mannerisms to protect themselves. The colorful yet, allusive Coral Snake, for instance, will curl up and hide its head underneath its body when it feels threatened. Then it bends and presents its tail in such a way that it looks just like the snake's head. When a predator attempts to attack, the snake bites back injecting neurotoxic venom paralyzing its victim. The predator in this case sometimes becomes the prey.

Just as the Coral Snake has an ingenious way of protecting itself, so does the Coral Snake Copy Cat, the Scarlet Kingsnake. This snake uses its looks to confound and confuse. The nonvenomous Scarlet Kingsnake very much resembles the very venomous Coral Snake. The kingsnake has the same colors of red, black, and yellow. The difference, however, is in the pattern. The old rhyme "Red meets yellow, Kill a fellow, Red meets black, Friend of Jack", helps us to aptly identify the snake, but thoroughly mixes up would be predators and sometimes helps prevent this "legless lizard" from becoming lunch.

Yes, snakes are still as sneaky as ever. They still bewilder, beguile, and sometimes even bewitch. They are masters of disguise as well as masters of deception and they probably always will be. So if you happen up on one of these "sneaky snakes", just acknowledge, admire, and then allow him to do his thing.

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