Flying Snakes

Some countries, mainly in southeast Asia, have the majority of the world’s flying snakes, but how do snakes fly? Technically, they’re not really flying. They glide by stretching their bodies into a flattened strip using their ribs. They flatten out their bodies and parachute or glide from high spots to lower spots, and flying squirrels do the same thing. They can cover a horizontal distance of about 100 metres in a glide from the top of a tree.

Unlike flying squirrels, which extend all four feet to create two stable wing-like structures, snakes use their ribs to become flat, and then they whip their bodies in a fast, rhythmic S-shape to stay airborne.

Why would snakes decide they needed to fly? Probably because jumping from one tree to another is faster than slithering between them, though these snakes do slither.

They’re not actually all that dangerous, because their fangs are very small and located in the back of their mouths. Sometimes they land on people, but even then their bites aren’t very damaging. They’re mildly venomous but not deadly to humans. In fact, they’re classified as harmless, unless you’re allergic to them.

Flying snakes grow to be three to four feet long, but smaller snakes are better flyers.

The Herald

1) Most flying snakes are found in

2) When flying, these snakes

3) The snakes fly

4) Flying snakes

5) The smaller the snake