When a snake's powerful coils wrap around an animal, its lungs get compressed and it dies. Some snakes inject venom into an animal to kill it. Less than one-fourth of all snake species are venomous. Defense Strategies Avoiding an Enemy Snakes are both predator and prey. Many snakes have died at the hands of humans, whether through direct killing or through habitat change.
Snakes evade enemies through various strategies.
The most common defense is to keep from being seen, since it reduces the need to fight. That's why snakes spend most of their time hiding, aided by colors and patterns that camouflage them or serve as warnings to potential enemies. Most snakes try to flee when threatened. If this strategy doesn't work, they have a variety of behaviors to ward off attackers. Usually snakes attack only as a last resort.