World Snakes Day

 

July 16 marked the World Snakes Day, an appropriate occasion to learn more about the reptiles.  World Snakes Day will be used to enable better understanding of snakes.

Of around 290 more species of snakes found in the world, hardly less than 10 percent are venomous;  Snakes have played a pivotal role in the environment for millions  of years, and they contribute  in the continuous cycling of nutrients and are significant predators of rodents.

The World Health Organisation, estimates about 94000 people die every year as a result of snake bites. However, scientists have known since 1940s that Virginia Opossums (dielphis Virginiana), ground squirrels and honey badgers has some level of immunity to snake bites, Scientists now have isolated the molecule called peptidet responsible for the Opossum’s immunity to snake venom, according to the American Chemical Society in Denver.