Humans have always been afraid of snakesBut did you know that in the northwest corner of Liaoning, that is, on the surface of the Bohai Sea, there is a snake island?
It is said that in this area is only 1Tens of thousands of snakes live on the 2-square-kilometre island, and almost all of them are the same species of highly venomous black-browed pit vipers that thrive in this paradise.
But there's an interesting fact about the island.
There used to be an old saying:The snake eats rats for half a year before hibernation, and is eaten by rats for half a year after it hibernates.
Isn't it said that hibernation snakes are the most venomous, why are they powerless against mice? And why are there so many venomous snakes living on this island?
The bark snake that hibernates, the Snake Island pitter
The black-browed pit viper, a single snake species living on Snake IslandIn fact, it is what people call the Snake Island pit viper, which is a species endemic to Snake Island.
On the body of the black-browed pit we can faintly see the shadow of the intermediary pit viper, and their appearance is somewhat similar.
The black-browed pit is generally stout and has a short tail. Its head is triangular and the neck area is more pronounced, and the dorsal head has large scales and a pair of symmetrical dark brown markings.
It has cheek sockets in front of its eyes and a narrow black-brown stripe on the backThere is also a light white line under the stripe, and the letter spit out from the snout is also black.
The body color of the black-browed pit viper is mostly brown or gray.
On the dorsal part of the body, there is a large dark brown "X"-shaped markings that stretch across the sides and extend to the tail, and the markings are staggered from left to right, and the abdomen is light gray with black spots.
This snake inhabits mountains at low altitudes, and usually hides near grass, under bushes, and in crevices of rocksHowever, most pit pit pits prefer to nestle on tree branches for feeding and resting.
Because of its similar body color to tree branches and its frequent lying on its stomach, many people call it bark.
This snake has evolved to be highly venomous because it lives on the island all year round in order to protect itselfMost of its toxins are a special neurotoxin, which is very toxic, even surpassing other common pit vipers.
It is reported that the toxin spreads very quickly in the human body, only 01 gram can kill an adult.
Once the bite is not treated in time, the patient's nervous system will be damaged, and symptoms such as dyspnea, quadriplegia and weakness will occur, and in severe cases, cardiac arrest will be life-threatening.
The most common thing we've heard is that snakes hibernateIt is strange that the snakes living on Snake Island still sleep in the summer.
Why do black-browed pit vipers hibernate twice a year?
The black-browed pit viper usually feeds on insects and rodents, but due to the lack of food on the islands, it sometimes relies on hunting birds that stay on the islands to replenish its strength.
As a result, the pit viper has two active hunting periods per year, from May to June and from September to October. During these two periods, the Snake Island pit pit will quietly climb onto the branches of trees or coil in the trees and wait for the arrival of its prey.
However, after June, when the food is reduced, the pit pit will burrow into the burrow for summer sleep, waiting for the next predation period.
That's right, it's summer hibernation, and the snakes on Snake Island don't have a lot of predation space and time like the snakes on the mainlandIn order to survive better, they can only decide the time to hibernate according to the time when the birds fly.
Where did the snakes on Snake Island come from?
In fact, Snake Island was a series of mountains connected to the mainland before this, and it was not called Snake Island at that time, because it lived with many kinds of animals and vegetation at that timeIt's not just snakes.
It was only later that natural factors such as force majeure such as the movement of the earth's crust caused it to separate from the continent and evolved into today's island over time.
It was this sudden change that caused many creatures that had previously drifted along the sea with the mountain peaks to face death due to lack of food.
Only the black-browed pit viper survived, and after thousands of years of change, the population of the black-browed pit viper gradually expanded to what it is today. In this way, this poisonous snake is a species that exists in Snake Island.
Why is it the only one that survived? This has to talk about the characteristics of snakes.
It has been said before that snakes are a very adaptable species, whether they are plateaus or deserts, they have their footprints, and they will constantly evolve their own structure as the environment changes.
And then there's its great endurance.
For example, the black-browed pit viper on Snake Island can survive in any crevice, and it can go without food for a long time, so it is easier for the snake to survive than other creatures.
Speaking of which, you're bound to askIt stands to reason that after so many years, the number of black-browed pit vipers on the island has to be 100,000How can it be only twenty thousand?
It's all thanks to the brown rats. Because they stealthily burrow into the burrows of the black-browed pit vipers to eat them while they are hibernating, the population of the snakes has been kept under control and has not overflowed.
The ecology here seems to have maintained a delicate balance under the mutual constraints of the two species.
Does a hibernating snake have to be immobile?
Snakes in almost all parts of the world hibernate before winter begins, and the same is true for snakes on Snake Island.
At this time, the brown rat took advantage of the snake's dormancy to freely enter and exit the burrow to eat snake meat, is the hibernating snake really not aware at all?
In fact, it is often said that hibernation snakes are the most venomousMost refer to a snake that has just been stung, that is, the snake has fully awakenedIn addition, snakes that have not yet fully entered the dormant period can be described as very poisonous once they are provoked and bitten.
Snakes are ectotherms, they do not freely improve their body temperature as the ambient temperature changes, hence the phenomenon of hibernation.
The biological enzymes in their bodies are only reactivated when the temperature becomes high, and the snake can move freely.
That is, once the outside temperature becomes low,Their bodies will become stiff to the point where they are unable to move or move slowly.
They will find a warm burrow to sleep in before the outside temperature reaches the bottom line they can tolerate, and wait until the next spring when their bodies slowly warm up before they come out of the burrow to hunt and move.
But there is one thing to understand hereThe biological enzymes in the snake are also afraid that the outside temperature is too low, and if the temperature is too low, then the snake may freeze to death.
There is also the fact that once the snake enters the hibernation period, its entire body is already in a state of nerve paralysisDuring this time, it does not possess any ability to fight or dodge other mobs.
In other words, a completely hibernating snake has no power to resist the rat, and can only let it gnaw unscrupulously.
Even if the consciousness wakes up in the middle of the bite of the brown rat, it is impossible to do anything about the brown rat due to its stiff bodyMoreover, the brown rat is not an ordinary mouse.
The brown rat is different from our common mice, it has a pair of very sharp front teeth in its mouth, and with the assistance of very developed masseter muscles, it has formed a bite force of more than 200 catties.
Its teeth are almost omnipresentEven hard rubber, cables, etc., can still bite you off, not to mention the body of a snake.
Therefore, when the brown rat encounters a cluster of unaware hibernation snakes, it is not easy to gnaw on them to satisfy their hunger.
Even if the hibernating snake relies on its own consciousness to fight back, it is at most a dying struggle under the strong bite force of the brown rat.
Of course, this is not absoluteMost black-browed pit vipers like to hibernate in groups, possibly a dozen, or hundreds, because they can keep warm and not freeze to death when the temperature is very cold.
If the brown rat sneaks into a snake nest, then it is estimated that it will be nine deaths.
This kind of biological chain is also really interesting, the snake wakes up and eats the rat, the snake sleeps and is eaten by the rat, and so who is better than the natural rules of this cycle?
Conclusion
The so-called survival of the fittest, elimination of the unsuitableAs a species endemic to Snake Island, the black-browed pit is able to adapt to the current situation by constantly evolving its structure almost every time it is difficult.
They also seem to have a lot of brains and a strong sense of perceptionI guessed that there would be birds migrating here every yearIn order to meet their own physiological needs, the race will be slowly continued.
Snakes can be like this, so can humans, as the highest biological species, also be smart enough to pay attention to and protect nature, so as to get the continuation of the human race?