People say that "once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of the well rope", it can be seen that the impression of snakes on humans is not very good. According to scientific research, human fear of snakes is engraved in genes, and it is precisely because humans are full of fear of snakes, so many people are very disgusted with snakes. So, what would it look like if all the snakes on Earth went extinct? Will it be a good thing or a bad thing?
Snakes are a class of animals under the phylum Chordata and reptiles, and according to the currently found snake fossils, the earliest snakes on earth appeared in 150 million, probably living in the same period as dinosaurs.
They evolved from lizards, and over the years that followed, they slowly degenerated their limbs, eventually forming what we see today. It should be noted here that venomous snakes appeared much later than non-venomous snakes, and according to biologists, venomous snakes appeared on Earth no earlier than 27 million years ago.
Snakes are a kind of evolutionarily successful reptiles, when catching prey, they can not only constantly spit out letters to collect odor molecules in the air, to detect prey and predators, but also through powerful infrared receptors to hunt food, it can be said that in reptile carnivores, snakes are always the hegemons standing at the top of the food chain.
Because snakes have strong environmental adaptability, coupled with the extinction of dinosaurs, there are only a few natural enemies of snakes in nature, they reproduce quickly, the number continues to increase, to this day, except antarctica, snakes have spread to every corner of the earth.
According to statistics, there are more than 3,000 kinds of snakes on the earth today, of which there are 650 kinds of venomous snakes, in this large family, there are both 8 cm blind snakes, and there are more than 9 meters in length of the forest hopper, the color is more "colorful", very bright, however, there is a folk saying: the more colorful the color of the snake, often the more poisonous. In fact, this statement is not scientific, and the color of the body is not the only criterion for determining whether a snake is venomous or not.
As mentioned above, the snake is a carnivore, their prey objects are very wide, from rats to frogs, from birds to the same kind, are their food, and even there have been incidents of pythons swallowing people, here it needs to be stated that in general, pythons do not actively attack humans.
According to the World Health Organization, as many as 5 million people are bitten by snakes every year, and more than 100,000 people are bitten by poisonous snakes.
Snakes are a certain threat to humans, so there are often people who fantasize that if snakes can become extinct from the earth, it would be good, in fact, if snakes become extinct, it is not a good thing.
Admittedly, if snakes disappear from the earth, at least 100,000 of us will be able to escape the deadly threat of venomous snakes every year, and we don't have to worry about a snake suddenly appearing in a corner of our home biting ourselves. However, in the longer term, it does more harm than good.
First of all, once the snake is extinct, then the animals located in the lower layer of the snake food chain will lose their natural enemies, so they may flood, especially rodents, such as rats, voles, etc. We all know that rodents will destroy crops in large quantities, steal food, they are good at burrowing, which will make many buildings, houses poorly sturdy, and will also nibble on furniture, which will bring huge losses to people's production and life.
The best example is the Australian hare, they were brought to Australia by british colonists in the 18th century, because the Australian climate environment is very suitable for hare survival, there are large grasslands, and Oceania has been isolated overseas for a long time, there are almost no natural enemies of hares on the mainland, so that hares continue to breed, not only to Australia's animal husbandry industry to bring huge losses, but also to the local residents' lives caused serious impact, food shortages, water pollution, grassland degradation and a series of survival problems.
Secondly, while rodents are flooded, the natural enemies of snakes will slowly become extinct because they do not have enough food, and the representatives of these animals are honey badgers, snake vultures, hornbills, eagles, etc., and many of these animals are currently endangered, and once the snake becomes extinct, the snake as the main food member will soon face extinction. The impact of the decline of species on the ecological environment is very large.
For example, the Siberian tiger is currently on the verge of extinction, and the current number of Siberian tigers in China is less than 20, and the important reason for the continuous reduction of its number is the destruction of the ecological environment, resulting in a decrease in the number of some herbivores, and as a carnivorous Siberian tiger, in the case of not being able to obtain enough food, how can it ensure normal fertility and reproduction?
Finally, the disappearance of the snake species will also have a great impact on human life. We all know that the snake is a kind of animal that can be medicated, and it is recorded in the "Compendium of Materia Medica": the snake has the effects of leveling the liver and eyes, nourishing the mind and calming the mind, removing wind and dehumidification, relieving pain, activating blood and dissolving stasis. If they become extinct, it will also be a huge loss to the medical and health undertakings, not to mention the folk remedies of using snake soaking wine to treat diseases, and it will be impossible to talk about it in the future.
In addition to medicine, there is also diet, in some areas of southern China, perennial prevalence of eating wild game, and snakes are the "regular customers" on their tables, snakes disappear, they will be less of a delicious dish, however, whether the snake is extinct or not, it is not recommended to eat, after all, the snake body has too many bacteria and parasites, once handled well, it may cause various diseases.
It can be seen that the extinction of the snake will not only bring no benefits to human beings, but even affect the entire natural ecological environment. It is true that in nature, the prevalence of a certain species and the disappearance of a certain species are not unprovoked, as described in the theory of biological evolution, "natural selection, survival of the fittest", and since they exist, they have their rationality.
If it is only because the snake has a negative impact on a certain link, and it is hoped that they will become extinct, it will inevitably cause more serious consequences. At the same time, we also call for the protection of the ecological environment and a suitable living environment for all animals, in fact, this is also helping us humans.