Are you sfraid of snakes?

Many people have a frightening image of snakes. Few creatures conjure up such scary impression in people as snakes. But for others these creepy reptiles also elicit great fascination and awe. Snakes are indeed the subject of such mixed views-and of so many myths and folk beliefs.

One of the oldest myths is that it was a "snake" in the Garden of Eden which was responsible, in author John Milton's words, for bringing "death into the world, and all our woe." But there is actually no reference to a snake in Genesis of the Bible. It is, rather, a "serpent" that tempted Eve. Serpents, in those days, were not necessarily snakes.

Any creeping thing, especially if venomous or noxious, was called a serpent. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the word "serpent" was applied to a variety of creatures, including both salamanders and crocodiles. While it is certainly ridiculous to imagine a crocodile hanging from an apple branch and wooing Eve, a salamander would not be any less possible to be the culprit than a snake.

The snake in the Garden of Eden could have been simply a matter of preference by those early interpreters of the Bible. And then, perhaps, the idea was carried out further by artists subsequently trying to depict the creature. The simple matter of subjective opinion must have been eventually taken as fact, the way most folk beliefs originate. There are many other falsehoods about snakes that tend to aggravate people's fear and misconceptions of these creatures.

Many fishermen report of seeing flying snakes at sea. This cannot be possible. No snakes can actually fly. There is a species of snakes found in Asian seas that can glide above water for short distances by extending a web-like membrane lining along each side of its body. But what may appear like flying is actually a slight hop above the water surface, a technique that enables them to make a more powerful descent into the deep.

Snakes are thought to swallow their young to protect them. Not quite right. Big snakes sometimes swallow little snakes-not to protect them but as dinner. The digestive juices of snakes are so quick-acting and strong that they can, in a short time, turn bone into powder. Any young snake swallowed by a bigger snake is consumed and turned into a slimy substance in no time.

Black snakes are often said to be good to have around because they eat poisonous snakes. True, they sometimes eat other snakes, especially smaller ones, but not usually the poisonous types. Contrary to popular belief, it does not blow poisonous vapor at its foes nor can inflict a wound. Even if it could, the wound would not be envenomed, since most black snakes don't have venom sacs.

Actually, cobras are not charmed by flutes. Snakes do not, in fact, have ears; they sense vibrations in the earth rather than hear sounds as people do. The cobra sways in time with the flute because it is trying to get into position to strike at it. It is up to the snake charmer to keep the flute in motion so that the cobra cannot attack. And the guy had better be a good judge of the cobra's movements or become its victim.

There is a folk belief in some places that even if you cut off the snake's head, it won't die until sunset. Perhaps this belief has arisen out of observation that the reflex system of snakes continues to operate for sometime after death. In fact, in the higher animals this can also happen as the body organs do not die together at once. But this tendency is only more pronounced in snakes; a snake's heart, for example, may continue to beat for many hours after decapitation. Nevertheless, a headless snake is a dead snake for sure.

Some people also say that snakes will grow a new tail when the original tail is broken off. There is no truth to this. There is, however, a snake-like creature that can re-grow a cut tail. It is of the species Ophisaurus ventralis. But technically, this creature is a lizard, not a snake. It has eyelids and ear openings that snakes do not have. And if it is cut in half it dies.

In Ireland, where there are no snakes, the folk belief is that it was their patron saint, St. Patrick, who drove the snakes away from the island country. But this popular belief may not be well founded at all. It might be pointed out that many islands do not have and, so far as can be determined, never have had snakes. Ireland and New Zealand are famous examples.

Some sectors regard snakes as benevolent creatures with supernatural powers. Snakes have been the center of many religions, particularly that of the Hopi Indians in the US and Minoan tribes in Greece. The snake is also used as a symbol in medicine and related fields owing to an age-old belief in the creature's curative and healing powers. Snakes appearing in dreams are held to signify recovery from malady or acquisition of certain abilities.

Myths and truths considered altogether, snakes are creatures to be approached with utmost caution. They are animals and, like all animals, their instinct for self-preservation is strong. An innocuous gesture by humans can be seen as an affront. And those who are not careful can end up as hapless victims.