The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-07-08
FACTS ABOUT SNAKES.
Marked cannibaltstic Preferences Ar

Marked Cannibalistic Preferences Are
 Displayed by Certain Species.
 One of the strange, or as some deem
 it, unnatural, features ill snake his- tory is that the principal food of cer- tain species is other snakes. The feel ing as to the habit being unnatural arises from the general Knowledge of the fact that carnivorous animals sel
 dom kill and eat other carnivora. By a very curious chance, if it is chance and not part of the order of nature among the snakes, two out of the three l English serpents live mainly, if not on snakes, on other snakelike creatures. The favorite food of the smooth snake and of the adder is the slowworm, | which, though 8 lizard, is in appear ance nothing but snake. The smooth snake is believed to live mainly on slowworms and lizards. Its range,
 which is very limited, and is steadily decreasing, seems to depend almost entirely on the presence of lizards.
 Writing in 1890, A. L. Baldry said: "As I lived for some years at Bourne
 mouth, in Hampshire, formerly it's l chief habitat, I have had many opportunities of observing the coronella l (that is, the smooth snake). In the l year 1868 Bourrnemouth was but a.
 large expanse of moorland, intersect- ! ed by marshy valleys, and was fa- 1 nous hunting ground for either natu- ralists or entomologists. At this time the coronella was extraordinarily l abundant During the very hot weather of the summer of 1868 these snakes were to be seen literally in scores. l Since then their numbers have grad I ually decreased" The favorite haunt
 of the coronella is dry, sandy hil1- side, overgrown with short heath,
 gorse and coarse grass, and sloping down to a marshy valley, where wa l ter Is at all times obtainable. There, on the bare patch of sand, the snake ! lies, loosely coiled, and basks in the | sun, and there it can, when thirsty,
 get water without any great expendi- \ ture of energy. Among the under growth it can also at any time find it's prey the common lizards. Very seldom l does any one have the chance to watch an English snake hunting and feed | ing. They do this very seldom, for a meal of some animal such as a lizard
 or sloWworm, or, in the case of the viper, a young bird, mouse or a young water rat, may suffice them for ! 8 week or fortnight
 The following interesting description of the manner of hunting of the
 smooth snake is given by Mr. Baldry: ! "As soon as it sees it's victim within
 easy reach it slowly approaches, keep 1 ing it's body concealed, but slightly
 raising its head above the heather and coarse grass. When it gets within striking distance, after remaining mo- 1 tionless for a few seconds, it darts ! suddenly and with the quickness of ! thought at the throat of the helpless I lizard. If it's aim is successful the ! snake instantly grasps with it's tail a stem of heather or tuft of grass, and
 proceeds at once to the enjoyment of
 its meal. It first gradually shifts it's ! hold from the throat to the snout of the lizard by slow and almost imper-
 ceptible degrees. When once it has the lizards head fairly in it's jaws the
 process of swallowing is rapid, and the strong protests of it's victim are una- vailing, as the snake, with it's tail
 knotted around the grass, is able to | overcome all resistance. In this way it l will dispose of a lizard as large as it.
 self and two-thirds of it's length
 l Though vfpers are very abundant in lmany parts both of England and Scot