Most people have a healthy respect for snakes. The fact that the majority of species are harmless, does not make people less wary.In most of the world's countries there are snakes that can kill, and they do kill The World Health Organization estimates that I00 people die from snakebites every day - that is around one every 15 minutes. Yet, despite their fearsome reputation, snakes havea fascinating beauty, an aura few other creatures possess.

Our relationship with snakes goes back to before the dawn of history.They appear in cave paintings, aboriginal art and creation myths. In some parts of the world they have been worshipped and in others demonized.Rarey have they been ignored.

Whatever they may symbolize, there is no denying that snakes have a certain beauty.Even those people for whom the thought of encountering a snake is frightening, find they can appreciate them in pictures or viewed through the safety of glass. Some snakes are brightly coloured and others have skin with incredibly intricate patterns. There is also beauty in the lethal efficiency of their design. The fact that they lack limbs does not handicap them - if anything it adds to their versatility as predators. Snakes can burrow,slither, climb, swim and even, in some species,glide. They have conquered virtually every habitat on Earth, including the oceans.

The more one learns about snakes, the more one comes to admire them. Snakes are true survivors, able to lie still for hours and strike in an instant, go for weeks without eating and then swallow prey that is larger than they are.Written by one of Britain's most respected natural[ histoy authors, this book explores the lives of'these incredible reptiles. The captiYating text is accompanied by stunning photography to paint a picture of snakes as you have never seen them before.

THE SNAKE

What is a Snake?

Types of Snake

SNAKE BEHAVlOUR

Senses and Movement

Predators and Prey

Breeding and Young

SNAKE FAMILIES

Venomous Snakes

Constrictors

Other Snakes

SNAKE FACTS

Snake Snippets

Snake Directory

INDEX