← Wild Animal Encounters: What to Do to Survive
Lesson
Lesson 1. Snakes: see them before you step on them
Don't step on it, don't touch it: learn to get through snake country and to part ways safely with a snake you meet.
It only attacks what has grabbed it
Snakes
A snake doesn't hunt people — you're far too big to eat. Every bite is defensive: someone stepped on the snake, grabbed it, or pinned it. So there's only one task — don't end up right next to it by surprise.
Snakes barely hear sounds in the air but feel ground vibration well: in snake country, stamp your feet — feeling your steps “with its body,” a snake slithers off before you see it. Wear over-the-ankle boots and thick pants in tall grass; sweep the grass ahead with a stick; don't put your hands into burrows or under rocks and logs; don't step blindly over a fallen log — step up onto it first and look behind it. In the morning, snakes bask on open rocks and trails — watch your step.
See a snake? Freeze, let it leave, back away a couple of meters, and go around it. A snake strikes about the length of its body; beyond that it “falls short” and doesn't give chase: “an aggressive snake chases people” is a myth.
In central Russia, the only venomous snake is the adder (common European viper); in North America, rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouths are vipers too. A grass snake has yellow “ears” on its head, but the rule is simpler than any field guide: don't touch ANY snake, and take your photos from a distance.
Lesson notes
Snakes
A snake doesn't hunt people — you're far too big to eat. Every bite is defensive: someone stepped on the snake, grabbed it, or pinned it. So there's only one task — don't end up right next to it by surprise.
Snakes barely hear sounds in the air but feel ground vibration well: in snake country, stamp your feet — feeling your steps “with its body,” a snake slithers off before you see it. Wear over-the-ankle boots and thick pants in tall grass; sweep the grass ahead with a stick; don't put your hands into burrows or under rocks and logs; don't step blindly over a fallen log — step up onto it first and look behind it. In the morning, snakes bask on open rocks and trails — watch your step.
See a snake? Freeze, let it leave, back away a couple of meters, and go around it. A snake strikes about the length of its body; beyond that it “falls short” and doesn't give chase: “an aggressive snake chases people” is a myth.
In central Russia, the only venomous snake is the adder (common European viper); in North America, rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouths are vipers too. A grass snake has yellow “ears” on its head, but the rule is simpler than any field guide: don't touch ANY snake, and take your photos from a distance.