World Snake Day 2016- Campaign #1

July 16 is a day that's on our calendar every year because it's a day when we can share our love for snakes with the world! World Snake Day is really every day for us at The Orianne Society as we work to conserve reptiles and amphibians through our various initiatives using science and boots-on-the-ground action.

But this July is all about snakes. Whether we're at outreach events or working in the field, we encounter people of all backgrounds that have many views of what snakes mean in their lives. We hear some wonderful stories and particularly enjoy seeing people like our members who are out there spreading the word about how awesome snakes are and how important they are in our world. And we also meet many people who hear and believe myths about snakes that simply aren't true—but these myths have been perpetuated in communities for so long that they become assumed truth.

So this year for World Snake Day, we are sharing facts and busting myths about snakes to let everyone know that snakes need love, too!

Roadways are arguably one of the top threats to snakes worldwide. “Why did the snake cross the road?” Snakes cross roads in order to find food, shelter and mates, so when roads fragment habitats within their ranges, snakes are more likely to be killed by vehicles. In addition to unintentional road mortality, one study showed that 8 out of 10 people purposefully swerved to hit what they thought was a snake while driving.

We’ve heard all kinds of adjectives used to describe snakes, including slimy, slithery, scary, dangerous, bad, cold-blooded and scaly. These negative words go a long way to shape the perceptions of these animals in our communities. So for #WorldSnakeDay, we challenge you to use positive words that truly encompass the way snakes should be viewed by the world: beautiful, magnificent, awe-inspiring, valuable, exceptional, amazing and stunning.

One in five snake species worldwide are venomous, but these snakes are at much higher risk than their nonvenomous counterparts of being killed due to human misconceptions. They also receive only a fraction of a percent of financial support for conservation by federal or state agencies within the United States. We see the value in ALL snakes and include venomous snakes in our conservation planning within each of our initiatives.

Human persecution is a major challenge for snake conservation, and snake identification is key to educating people about snakes. Relying on head shape or pattern to identify snakes is not an accurate identification method. Instead, it’s important to learn more about the snakes that live in your area so that you can ID them better. It also helps to better understand them so they can be respected equally for their contribution to their ecosystem, whether venomous or nonvenomous. A good snake is always a live snake!

Follow The Orianne Society on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see all of our World Snake Day facts and myths @OrianneSociety using #WorldSnakeDay and #SnakesNeedLoveToo.


World Snake Day is all about learning more about these awe-inspiring animals! We work with several snake species within each of our initiatives in order to conserve their populations and restore and maintain their habitats. We measure the movements and patterns of Eastern Indigo Snakes to see how they respond to habitat fragmentation and non-natural landscapes in South Georgia and northern and central Florida. We are monitoring Snake Fungal Disease and its effects on Timber Rattlesnakes in the Northeast Kingdom. We are finishing up our Conservation Action Plan for Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes and are using locality data to assess the extent of suitable habitat for them in Georgia and Florida. And we’ve been working with our partners and local communities to identify methods of tracking bushmasters and to create educational programs about venomous snakes in Costa Rica.

You can learn more about each of the snake species we are working to conserve at www.OrianneSociety.org/WorldSnakeDay.