For Wildlife enthusiasts around the world, the 16th of July is a special occasion as they celebrate the World Snake Day – an occasion dedicated to one of the most beautiful, dangerous and enigmatic living creatures on the planet. The human civilisation has been fascinated by snakes for time immemorial and they have been part of folktales and mythologies too. While there is no story behind the origin of the World Snake Day, NGOs and snake aficionados around the world use it to propagate the message of conservation of snake habitat as the reptiles face more and more dangers with each passing day. While the snakes try and avoid human contact as much as possible and with only one-fourth of them being venomous, there is a large section of society which is misinformed about them and hence the day plays a crucial role in knowledge sharing. On World Snake Day 2020, These Silly Snake Puns and Riddles Will Make You Laugh 'Hisssterically'.

On World Snake Day, we take a look at some interesting facts about them.

  • Snakes are known for going a long period of times without food but there are some snakes who do not eat for two years. They are even known to digest their own heart if the situation demands.

  • The Boa Constrictors reproduce asexually and do so through a process called Parthenogenesis wherein the eggs develop without being fertilised.

  • Some snakes from the Southeast and South Asia regions are known to possess flying powers. They were recorded travelling from one tree to another at a distance of 24 meters with constant velocity.

  • The Black Mamba is the deadliest snake in the world with its bite causing 100 % mortality rate if left untreated.

  • Snakes have no eyelids and instead have a layer of transparent skin called brille that protects their eyes.

  • The Green Anaconda is the largest snake in the world and weighs up to 550 pounds.

  • There have been instances of spotting of two-headed snakes in the world. Recently in India, police rescued one from smugglers.

  • The primitive snake known as Sanajeh indicus grew as long as 11.5 m in length and ate baby dinosaurs.

  • It is believed that snake venom can be used for the treatment of stroke, heart disease and cancer.

  • The spitting cobra is so accurate with its spraying of venom that it can attack creatures upto a distance of six feet with deadly accuracy.

Snakes have an aura about them that will continue to draw the attention of academician who studies about them. There are still many things that we don’t know about these majestic beings which are needed for a better human snake co-existence.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 16, 2020 11:14 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).