St. Patrick And The (Non-Existent) Snakes

It's one of the most popular Irish myths, the story of how St. Patrick drove all of the snakes out of Ireland and that's why to this day you don't see snakes in the Emerald Isle. However, scientific evidence has disproved this myth: Turns out, there were never any snakes in first place.

"At no time has there ever been any suggestion of snakes in Ireland, so [there was] nothing for St. Patrick to banish", naturalist Nigel Monaghan, keeper of natural history at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, who has searched extensively through Irish fossil collections and records, told National Geographic News.

Sorry to disappoint, but this never happened.

In fact, the only reptile that is native to Ireland is the viviparous, or common, lizard. The viviparous lizard measures less than five inches in length, but that doesn't include its tail which is up to two times longer than its body.

This lizard species is found farther north than any other reptile species, as far as the Arctic Circle. The viviparous lizard also gives birth to live offspring, rather than laying eggs as is normal for most other lizard species.

10 Adorable Pictures Of Animals In Love For Valentine's Day

Animal lovers know that animals experience feelings and emotions just like us humans do, including the emotion of the day: LOVE. To celebrate Valentine's Day, we give you this photo gallery of animals in love!

Chinese New Year 2013 - Year Of The Snake

This Sunday is the start of the Chinese New Year, one of the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar. Its celebrated with a two-week festival of activity that includes parades, dances, fireworks, feasts and more! Every Chinese New Year has an animal symbol, and 2013 is the year of the snake.

What does this mean? The animal represents traits for people born in this year. However, this is not the only animal symbol the Chinese people have. There are also animals for the month, day and hour which you are born, each symbolizing a different part of your personality. People born in the year of the snake are charming but calculating, and usually conservative. They are alert and perceptive and value love, companionship and moral support.

Celebrate Chinese New Year and the year of the snake by learning more about these reptiles here, here and here. And don't forget to visit our snake section on the website so you can choose a cuddly (or creepy) snake of your own!

The European Adder

The European adder has the widest range of any terrestrial snake species - it can be found throughout most of Western Europe to Far East Asia to north of the Arctic Circle! It can also live at higher altitudes than any other snake (2600 meters above sea level).

European Adders are the only venomous snake to inhabit Britain, but they are entirely absent from Ireland and the Channel Islands. The adder is a oviparous species, which means it gives birth to live young. Like bears, adders in the wild will hibernate for 5 to 7 months, emerging when the weather gets warmer and they can bask in the sun.

The diet of the adder mainly consists of small rodents, but they will also occasionally prey on nesting birds, lizards and frogs. One way the adder hunts is by attacking their prey and injecting them with venom, then immediately releasing them to avoid a counterattack. The prey then wonders off to die, and the adder uses its sense of smell to follow the animal's scent trail and eat the dead prey.

See The Jungle Store's great selection of stuffed and plush snakes, snake gifts and more here!

Legless Lizards

One look at the California legless lizard and it would be easy to believe you’re looking at a snake. However, there are several key differences that make this lizard decidedly un-snakelike.

For one, the legless lizard has movable eyelids, a trait snakes do not possess. Also, unlike snakes the California legless lizard is unable to open its jaws extremely wide to swallow large prey items and is therefore restricted to eating small insects and spiders.

There are eight families of lizards with members possessing either small legs, or no legs at all living throughout the world. So the next time you think you see a snake, look again!

The Antiguan Racer – World’s Rarest Snake

With fewer than 500 individuals in existence, the Antiguan racer is considered to be the world’s rarest snake. They can only be found on tiny Great Bird Island, a small island off the coast of Antigua.

Antiguan racers are relatively small and non-venomous. Males are usually about three feet long and are dark brown in color with creamy blotches. Females are typically much larger and are silver-grey in color with brown blotches. These snakes are known to be gentle in temperament and pose absolutely no threat to humans.

Photo: WebEcoist

Antiguan racers are diurnal, meaning they are most active during the day. Their primary prey are native Antiguan ground lizards such as anoles, for which they usually hunt by ambush, hiding under leaves until the lizard passes by; usually, Antiguan racers consume roughly two lizards per month.

Prior to colonization, these snakes were common to all of Antigua. However, the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century brought many nonnative rats to the area that would eat, among other things, Antiguan racer eggs. Soon the rat population began to skyrocket, and settlers introduced Asian mongooses to help eradicate them. Instead of eating rats, the diurnal mongooses preferred to prey upon Antiguan racers and the lizards they depended on for food. Within a short time of mongooses being introduced, Antiguan racers vanished, and most considered to them to be extinct.

A population of 50 Antiguan racers was discovered on Great Bird Island in the early 1990’s, apparently able to survive as no mongooses had been introduced there. Since then, conservation efforts have led to the population expanding tenfold, prompting conservationists to rid more islands of mongooses and give the Antiguan racer additional habitat.

Water Droplet Animal Sculptures

I decided to take a break from sharing animal facts today in order to show you some amazing pictures I ran across; droplets of colored water that (abstractly) resemble animals!

Although it may look like these photos are altered, German artist and photographer Markus Reugels actually spent thousands of hours snapping shots of the water droplets to get just the right shapes. Some of them are easily recognizable and others not so much. However, they’re all pretty fascinating to look at!

 

 

 

 

 

Photos via.

Smooching Snakes!

Awww, snakes in love! How sweet!

Animal Facts: Heat-Seeking Boa Constrictors

Boas constrictors, along with many other snakes, have special heat-sensitive organs called pits. These pits, located on their heads underneath their lips, can detect heat given off by warm-blooded animals close by.

Mating Habits Of The Red-sided Garter Snake

Red-sided garter snakes have quite an unusual time during mating season. Every spring, tens of thousands of these snakes emerge from hibernation and engage in mating balls (like orgies). The males emerge first, waiting for the females. Whenever a female appears, the males surround her, rolling and writhing until one finally mates with her; but often multiple males will take the opportunity.

Even weirder, is that some of the male snakes can create the same female pheromone (a chemical released to attract males). These are known as “she-male” snakes, and they often fool other males into trying to mate with them. However, the reason for why they do this is still unknown.

The Striped Galapagos Snake

The Galapagos snake is about 2 to 3 feet long and is brown with longitudinal yellow stripes. They are slightly poisonous to humans and may use their venom on prey, but mainly kill them with constriction. Galapagos snakes prey includes lava lizards, grasshoppers, geckos and marine iguana hatchlings.

Animal Facts: Snake Teeth

Did you know that most species of snakes of six rows of teeth? They have two rows of teeth on their upper jaw and four rows of teeth on the bottom.

Say "ahhhh"

And while all snakes have teeth, not all snakes have what are classified as fangs. Fangs are long, hollow teeth that emit poison, which means only venomous snakes have them. Some snakes have fangs that can fold back into their mouth so they don't bite themselves.