How can animals eat poisonous snakes

This is because snakes want nothing to do with people. They usually are very likely to flee at the first sight of a person. Unfortunately, the majority of reported snake bites are due to handling snakes or even trying to hurt them. Fortunately, even those who do get bitten are almost always fine, as long as they seek out medical attention immediately. Snake venom has been heavily researched by medical scientists for creating new highly effective medicines.

Take a few minutes to find out which venomous and nonvenomous Florida snakes are your favorites, and see which ones you can find in NatureWorks next time you slither into Orlando Science Center! It is not known whether the indigo is immune, but it is known they will seek out venomous snakes and consume.

Both of these snakes can take relatively large venomous species. The eastern indigo snakes is the largest native snake in the U. However, both the kingsnakes and the indigo are on the declined. The eastern indigo is currently federally listed as endangered — there has not been a verified record of one in the Florida panhandle since However, there are anecdotal reports and we encourage anyone who has seen one to send us a photograph.

There is an active indigo restoration program going on in Alabama and in the Apalachicola River area. These are the largest native snakes in the U. There is evidence that as the eastern kingsnake populations decline copperhead populations increase, and Vis versa.

Clearly, we should reconsider killing both the indigo and kingsnakes. We also understand that habitat loss is another cause of their decline, particularly in the case of the indigo. When looking at this list of snake consumers we see species that cause other problems — alligators, raccoons, coyotes, and bears have all have had their negative issues. You can:. Please tell us your name, age and which city you live in.

You can send an audio recording of your question too, if you want. Send as many questions as you like! Portsmouth Climate Festival — Portsmouth, Portsmouth. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. In the mammalian realm, hedgehogs, skunks, ground squirrels, and pigs have shown resistance to venom. Some scientists even believe the lowly opossum, which wields a venom-neutralizing peptide in its blood, may hold the key to developing a universal antivenom.

Instead of antivenin blood, mongooses possess mutations on their very cells that block snake neurotoxins like a wad of gum in a keyhole. In this venom-fighting menagerie, woodrats are an exception of sorts. In fact, venom resistance is far more common in those who eat venomous animals than those who venomous animals regularly feed upon. For instance, grasshopper mice can shrug off the paralyzing effects of bark scorpions, upon which they feast.

Same goes for the fan-fingered geckoes of the Middle East and the yellow scorpions they hunt. And Texas horned lizards are times more resistant to harvester ants than mice , a general indicator of toxicity.