Only this time, it's no act. A recent article in the BBC discussed a longitudinal study on eight different species of snakes and 17 total snake populations. The result? Most of the populations have declined drastically. In addition, many of the decreases in population began in 1998. What's so special about 1998? Well, it just so happens that 1998 was the "hottest year recorded in modern times," attributed to El Nino conditions. Furthermore, snakes also disappeared from protected habitats, which possibly indicates that loss of habitat is not the only culprit in the case of the vanishing snakes.
As someone who once had a snake as a pet, I can attest to their beauty, mystique, and importance. Like with other cases of disappearing species, what's so scary is that by the time we (humans) as a population react and try to reverse the effects of climate change, it may already be too late. "Too late" can mean many things, from our own population decline, to drastic changes in lifestyle, to huge lack of resources, to tremendous losses of species we once knew and loved--or if not loved, at least appreciated.
Click here to read the full article:
Snakes in mysterious global decline
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