Vulnerable babies.

[adamanteus]

Well, they're definitely more likely to fall prey than the rest, but I fail to see how that would benefit the others.

Well, the local predator would have a full belly for a couple more days.

[garterchick]

i think it's just natural selection, survival of the fittest! they're really not meant to all survive.

[adamanteus]

Very true.

[Stefan-A]

Well, the local predator would have a full belly for a couple more days.

Better to not feed it at all?

[Stefan-A]

i think it's just natural selection, survival of the fittest! they're really not meant to all survive.

It's quite possible that they aren't, but if that's the case, there should be something about the system that makes it worth producing them anyway.

[adamanteus]

Hey, I can't explain nature. But certainly the strong survive..... and if there happens to be a weakling nearby when the wolf comes calling... all the better!

[Stefan-A]

Hey, I can't explain nature. But certainly the strong survive..... and if there happens to be a weakling nearby when the wolf comes calling... all the better!

More of the strong survive, than of the weak. But some of the weak still survive. It's not always the weakest one that dies.

Think about this: When people are catching wild snakes, they're far more likely to catch a dumb one, than a smart one. The "strong" ones get away more often than the "weak" ones. So chances are that we own descendants of the dumbest, slowest snakes that mother nature had to offer.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

James.. this very same thing has happened to me before with a few baby sirtalis. It's something I MIGHT expect if they had just been moved to a new container and could not find the water... but whe they've been in there for weeks and all of a sudden forget to take drinks... it makes ya wonder!

[adamanteus]

James.. this very same thing has happened to me before with a few baby sirtalis.

Did they survive, Shannon?

[jitami]

The "strong" ones get away more often than the "weak" ones. So chances are that we own descendants of the dumbest, slowest snakes that mother nature had to offer.

Makes perfect sense to me