Snakes don't deserve the rap they get

When Bob Jackson’s wife, Sarah, came screaming around the corner of their house, he expected to see something like a bear chasing after her.
He had heard her screams and ran outside to see what was happening. It turned out a lot better than he feared. Sarah had seen a snake in their garden and reacted like many people do when they see any kind of snake.
Jackson checked the snake and right away he knew it was a harmless black snake looking for a meal in their garden.
The thought of a snake within 10 miles can cause some people to get nervous. Snakes have always generated more fear and misunderstanding than any other animal in the state – even though psychologists have proven that a fear of snakes is acquired and people aren’t born with it.
The Missouri Department of Conservation’s publication, “Snakes of Missouri,” contains information on many of the state’s 52 species and subspecies and facts about their habits. It points out that only five of these species are venomous and are described and pictured in the free pamphlet.
Once people learn some of the interesting facts about these reptiles – that most are harmless and beneficial – they can overcome their fears. Even people with a fear of snakes are still curious about them.
Tom Butler of Columbia has always had an interest in learning more about snakes ever since he was a schoolboy in Boone County. Butler came face to face with a rattlesnake.
“I just froze and watched the snake slowly move away,” he said. “I became interested in snakes and have learned to appreciate and respect them. My dread of snakes has disappeared, but I still avoid them. I know most snakebites occur when someone is trying to kill them.”
Snakes aren’t popular creatures in our culture. The mention of one can evoke the image of evil for many people. Many people have been brought up to fear and hate snakes. Because of that, snakes haven’t fared well.
Very few persons in the state ever get bitten by a venomous snake. Nationwide there are about 8,000 snakebites reported from venomous snakes, and fewer than a dozen are fatal. The important thing to prevent a snakebite is to follow a few simple rules. One rule is to avoid any snake you can’t identify and stay away from areas where snakes may concentrate.
“Don’t panic,” Mark Green of Warsaw offers as advice.
Green and Tom Nelson were on a canoe trip in southern Missouri several years ago when a snake fell into their canoe. Both men thought it was a dreaded cottonmouth. They reacted by trying to kill it. In doing so, the canoe tipped and sent both men into the stream.
“We lost most of our fishing gear and nearly drowned,” Green said. “Afterward, we decided it wasn’t a cottonmouth after all, and we now know that if something like that happened again, we would get to shore and then try to get rid of the snake.”
Most of the harmless snakes are helpful. They eat mice, dead fish and insects, and the kingsnake even eats other snakes, including the venomous ones.
As with other native wildlife species in Missouri, the more we try understand them, the more you can appreciate them and learn their role in the great outdoors.