The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-02-14
SNAKES SWALLOW THEIR YOUNG
Some Stories Illustrating the Habit in
Different Species.
(From Forest and Stream


(F'rom Forest and Stream.)
There has been a controversy for years
among naturalists relative to the ques-
ton: Do snakes swallow their young?
and there are many professors of herpet-
ology at the present day who ridicule the
idea. have been cognizant of the fact
for over fifty years. When a boy l began
my studies in herpetology, and was not
satisfied with knowing the names of our
reptiles, but sought them in the fields and
swamps and forests. 1 learned much of
their habits, and from time to time kept
them i'll confinement and have reared
Smithsonian Institution read very in
terestlng paper on the subject before the
American Association for the Advance
ment of Science at Portland, Me-, in Aug
ust, 1873, which ought to have settled the
question.
The first. time this came under my no
tlee was in July, 1880, I was roaming
garter snake (Eutaenia slrtalis) very near
me, with numerous young ones around
her. As | approached her she placed her
mead nat on the ground, opening her
m lth and making peculiar noise;y the
lllIe ones evidently understood for they
all ran into her oesophagus. 1 picked her
up by, the, neck, and put her in a bag and
had about twenty snakes, including the
mother. They were kept together in q
box, and when | told the story to my
friends they ridicued me. | was NOT
long, however before every person in the
house was convinced of the truth of nv
assertions, from witnessing the fact them
selves.
met with curious incident some vears
ago, while hunting snakes in the swamps
at Melrose. l came across a male and fe-
male striped snake, with numerous young
ones. The parents were near each other
the Family crawling
them, l was going for them, when, on
second thought, l concluded to watch
them They did not appear frightened,
but went on gamboling about for some
time went little nearer, when both
snakes turned toward me, making a faint
noise, placed their heads fiat on the
ground and received the young as stated
before. 1t was curious sight TO see
these young snakes, not long born some
of them foot or two away, turn at the
noise. and instantly seek refuge. / am
certain IL was a note of warning of dan
ger. | caught both snakes and put them
in separate bags. The female had ten
young and the male had swallowed five
This Is the, first instance of any notice of
a male snake performing this affeetionate
duty. for its. young. / placed the whole
family in a box, where they lived peacea-
Mr.. Julian Hooper and myself encoun-
tered large water snake &c. sipedon) on
the banks of small pond in Durham
swamp. | was about to capture her
when we saw number of young enterinr
her mouth, and before l could strike her
she entered the pond. l Immediately
swept the pond with my net and in two
or three minutes captured her but on ex-
animation could find no young. She had
evidently. in that short space of time de-
posted them under some tussock in the
bank out of harms way. What instinct
Tor the preservation of her young!
have also seen the Eutaenia saurita.
Feterodon platyrhinos and the Crotalus
horrida perform this act for their young.
Some rattlesnakes kept in confinement
frequently did the same with their pro-
geny when frightened. The beating Of a
drum near the case seemed to terrify the
old ones, so that at the first tap they
would secrete the young in the oesopha-
gus and yibrate their tails furiously and
they would not release the little ones till
me noise ceased. could relate numerous
INSTANCES have seen when different spe-
cies OF snakes have thus protected their