Why?

[drache]

it seems to me that our greatest threat at this point is ourselves and the destruction we've wrought

[adamanteus]

pretend to understand how the world goes round.

Stefan, philosophy? You surprise me.

[garterman07]

my personal belief on why people are affraid of snakes and spiders is because its a primitive instinct. remember not all snakes are friendly like garters, many of them are extremely toxic and every day some one dies of a fatal spider or snake bite. and in many areas of the world (and i mean alot) there are poisonous snakes, rattlers, vipers, cobras, even the non venomous ones can kill such as anaconda, and other large constrictors. but if you think about it, the fear and thought of being bit by a snake or spider is imprinted in your brain, did you ever have to figure out you don't wana get bit by a snake or a spider? no that thought is just always there. its primal instinct at its finest.

but when your not told otherwise about snakes or live in an area where snakes can kill you are programed to advoid them or be affraid of snakes so in the off chance you see one you flee and don't endanger your self. i my self was fortunate and learned to live with snakes and spiders, and as of right now i own a few large tarantulas and now a garter called rico!!!!

[Serpentine99]

it seems to me that our greatest threat at this point is ourselves and the destruction we've wrought

Alas the present and most likely the hardest challenge for the human race, ourselves. It may just be the one that kills this species off, but, who knows.

[Cazador]

People fear what they don't understand. It's exacerbated by the fact that humans and snakes generally try to avoid one another... meaning many snakes are secretive.

Rick

[drache]

that's true for other animals
perhaps snakes are more elusive because of their physical shape
it is also true that in many places where there are native species of venomous snakes, young children are often told to keep away from any and all snakes because it seems safer that way
that does seem sensible
where I grew up there was only one kind of venomous snake and it looked disticttly different different from the other kind of snake there was
so we were taught about that
but I suppose if one lived somewhere with a large and varied snake population, particularly some that mimic others . . .
who knows what one might tell the children

[garterman07]

when i lived in luisiana i was raised to stay away from almost all snakes, because of the water mossicans, those things are poisonous and really mean. they will come after you if you disturb one.

[GarterGuy]

when i lived in luisiana i was raised to stay away from almost all snakes, because of the water mossicans, those things are poisonous and really mean. they will come after you if you disturb one.

Have you ever actually had any dealings with water moccasins (Agkistrodon piscivorus) ????, from what I've heard from herping buddies of mine, they tend to actually be rather placid snakes, both in captivity and in the wild. I've personally never dealt with them (hopefully to change in a week when I go to Fla.), but haven't really heard of them being mean snakes (what I'm guessing means they're aggressive) and have never heard of any "going after" anyone.
Roy

[adamanteus]

Obviously I've never dealt with Agkistrodon piscivorus in the wild, but I have kept them in some numbers several times in captivity. I found them to be quite placcid and easy to care for, once they'd settled down. You could never really trust them though, way too dangerous to get complacent!

[cheryl]

I'd be interested in anyones experience with water moccasins in the wild. My husband says they were all over when he was in the Air Force, and believes them to have been very aggresive. I don't think he ever got close enough to find out for sure. He claims that understanding helped to bolster his fear of snakes. We have no venomous snakes in our half of SD. That fact fails to assure him.