Snakes that fly

[Bob]

Nice video by the National Geographic

I grew up on those books.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UczKUylZDv8

[donttread]

Nice video by the National Geographic

I grew up on those books.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UczKUylZDv8

That would make some fun target practice

[Bob]

I sat here and watched all 45 minutes of the video. I enjoyed the fresh input about why some animals can coast from one tree to the next tree. Besides the snake, they also examined an animal I had never heard of. Fact is, i had no idea snakes can "fly".

[Dr. Who]

I sat here and watched all 45 minutes of the video. I enjoyed the fresh input about why some animals can coast from one tree to the next tree. Besides the snake, they also examined an animal I had never heard of. Fact is, i had no idea snakes can "fly".
Saw a program about it on television - perhaps the National Geographic channel. They don't really fly, they glide like the flying squirrel.

[Redrose]

Flying or gliding, if that thing ever landed on me I'd drop dead. I hate snakes. In case I'm not making myself clear, I hate snakes.

[PolWatch]

I hear ya Redrose. There are 3 types of snakes that I hate: live snakes, dead snakes & sticks that look like snakes! They will all make me hurt myself getting away from them!

When my son was young he had a subscription to National Geographic Young Explorers magazine. (I read it too! :rollseyes: ) If they still publish, It's a great gift for kids.

[Redrose]

PolWatch We all grew up with Nat Geo, especially the boys with the topless native women. The nuns didn't want us reading it.

PS I hate snakes! I had a rattler lunge at me two years ago. I think I learned to fly 'cuz I moved so fast. But I did wet myself. I scared him rolling my trash pale up the driveway. The vibration panicked him. He was about 30" long as thick as a cucumber. Nasty thing. My neighbor shot him. I have to remember we live just outside the National Forest, a mile or so.

[Bob]

Saw a program about it on television - perhaps the National Geographic channel. They don't really fly, they glide like the flying squirrel.

While they glide, it still amounts to flying. What National Geographic means by saying they fly is the snake changes body shape. They form the shape of a wing. They can't gain altitude from what I think I learned, but they reach a point of not merely falling but actually progressing forward. At first the snake is falling then the wing effect kicks in.

[Bob]

Flying or gliding, if that thing ever landed on me I'd drop dead. I hate snakes. In case I'm not making myself clear, I hate snakes.

These snakes get up to maybe 3 ft long and are mildly venomous. To have one land on you, you have to be in Malaysia. Snakes get a bad reputation that they are slimy. I have never handled a slimy snake.

As a boy I handled them but not very often. Some kids like playing with them. I really never got into that habit.

[Bob]

I hear ya @Redrose (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=1123). There are 3 types of snakes that I hate: live snakes, dead snakes & sticks that look like snakes! They will all make me hurt myself getting away from them!

When my son was young he had a subscription to National Geographic Young Explorers magazine. (I read it too! :rollseyes: ) If they still publish, It's a great gift for kids.

Kids can learn a lot by subscribing to National Geographic. It strikes me it might make they curious.

[Bob]

@PolWatch (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=1099) We all grew up with Nat Geo, especially the boys with the topless native women. The nuns didn't want us reading it.

PS I hate snakes! I had a rattler lunge at me two years ago. I think I learned to fly 'cuz I moved so fast. But I did wet myself. I scared him rolling my trash pale up the driveway. The vibration panicked him. He was about 30" long as thick as a cucumber. Nasty thing. My neighbor shot him. I have to remember we live just outside the National Forest, a mile or so.

Twins, Jesse and Jim caught a rattle snake when I was a teen. They loved allowing it to roam their front yard on the grass and herding it around. I thought they were nuts. It was a very young rattler but they still can harm you. We have different rattlers here in CA than you guys have in TN.

To get our larger snakes, one needs to go up in the mountains. We have them in our hills but it could be food is in less supply so they could get larger with more food I suppose. Now I must check to see what the large rattlers in my area get up to. I might be totally wrong. :laugh:

http://www.ebparks.org/parks/sunol

This will show you all our local hills. I was hunting for snake warnings but found none. That surprises me since I believe that some rattlesnakes are found there.

Notice the park does not mention snakes. Maybe the rangers got rid of them.

AnimalsGround squirrels, yellow-billed magpies and red-tailed hawks share this wilderness with raccoons, skunks and black-tailed deer. Mountain lions are uncommon, but are occasionally sighted. Birding is superb along Alameda Creek with acorn woodpecker, black phoebe, titmouse, turkey vulture, and golden eagle commonly sighted. As many as 20 to 40 bird species are often seen in a single morning.

[gamewell45]

Would be pretty cool to take the snake up in an airplane, drop it out and watch it glide down to earth.

[Bob]

Ladies, this is the rattle snake that are in our local hills. The Sunol Park is part of those same hills.

These are in general not longer than 3 feet. Some are as long as 5 feet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_oreganus

[Bob]

I like the idea of dropping those gliding snakes from an airplane to see how they make out. The video shows them being dropped from 50 feet. Maybe they drop them even higher up.