Is It Necessary For A Rattling Snake To Rattle Before It Strikes?
A rattle snake is really something to be afraid of. Since people are afraid of it, they have developed an idea that makes it seem a little less dangerous – that a rattle snake will warn before it strikes by rattling its tail.
As a matter of fact, it is not fully true. when a rattlesnake rattles, it is generally because it has frightened. This makes it to vibrate its tail rapidly which causes the rattle to strike together. Studies conducted have shown that in 95 per cent of the times it gives no warning at all before it strikes.
The idea of rattlesnakes and other poisonous snakes “Striking” rather than biting is not true. The poisonous snakes strike as well as bite. Some snakes bite more than others.
A snake with long fangs, like the rattle snake has its long , hollow, movable fangs, folded inward against the roof of the mouth when the mouth is closed. When about to bite, the snake opens its mouth, the fangs fall into biting position and the snake lunges forward. As the fangs penetrate the skin, the snake bites.
This biting movement presses the poison gland, so that the poison flows out, then go through the hollow teeth and into the wound. Other snakes such as cobra, which has shorter fangs, hold on for a time when they bite and chew. This chewing motion forces the poison into the wound.
The cobra is much more dangerous snake than the rattle-snake. The cobra is more aggressive, more likely to attack. A rattle-snake has more poison; the venom of cobra is more deadly. People have often died of cobra bite in less than an hour.
