Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Snakes Proliferate on Florida Island Despite Lack of Fresh Water

Here is a poisonous cottonmouth snake ready to strike with its fangs! This is just one of the dangerous snakes that thrive on Florida's Seahorse Key. About 600 vipers live around the 67-hectare island. Sometimes, there is an average of 22 cottonmouths on every palm tree-covered area! Indeed, it may be the most dangerous island in the region if snakes are the issue. Scientists have long wondered how these snakes live there with no fresh water and too few mammals to feed on. It is theorized that they live on the huge amounts of dead fish that the birds drop, vomit, and excrete every year. Wow, seafood-eating snakes!

No comments: