If you want to ask which animal has the most tenacious vitality? Probably the answer in everyone's mind is different. However, there are many isolated islands around the world, and the islands are full of poisonous snakes, and there are almost no other animals in sight. But in fact, these islands were not only venomous snakes, but also other animals, and then other animals gradually died due to food shortages, but these poisonous snakes survived on super vitality.
Among them, the most representative is the black-browed pit viper on Dalian Snake Island, which was originally connected to the mainland and is a small mountain. Later, the sea level rose, flooding the surrounding ground, making it an isolated island, and then the animals on the island gradually became extinct due to lack of food, leaving only the black-browed pit viper. So how did the black-browed pit viper survive?
For the island's snakes, almost all of the food comes from migratory birds passing by the island. In order to survive, the black-browed viper gradually evolved two unique skills, the first is: deadly venom, and the other is: summer sleep.
Deadly venom can help the black-browed pit viper to catch migratory birds more easily, improving the efficiency of hunting. In the process of evolution, the more poisonous black-browed pit vipers have a higher probability of survival. Therefore, this makes the black-browed pit viper on Dalian Snake Island more and more poisonous. According to the research of scientists, the black-browed pit viper on Dalian Snake Island is more toxic than its close relatives on the mainland, at least 5 times stronger.
However, migratory birds do not come to Dalian Snake Island all year round, and only in the spring and autumn will pass through Dalian Snake Island. That is to say, in the spring and autumn, the black-browed pit viper has enough food, and the snake is hibernating in the winter, and can hardly eat, so the question is, what should I do in the summer?
The black-browed pit vipers on Dalian Snake Island have gradually evolved the skill of "summer sleep", that is, in the summer, they will also sleep for a long time, similar to hibernation, they do not need food, so that they do not need energy in summer. This also makes the black-browed pit viper the only snake that can hibernate and hibernate.
According to statistics, the total land area of Dalian Snake Island is less than 1 square kilometer (about 0.73 square kilometers), but the number of black-browed pit vipers has reached a staggering 20,000, and the density can be imagined. Supposedly, the black-browed pit viper should be the absolute overlord on the island, but it was once endangered and is still threatened by other animals.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" Why was the > data-track="8" once endangered? </h1>
According to the existing records, the snakes on Snake Island have undergone several large-scale lootings, and even once endangered, but the culprit is: humans. Let's take a few examples:
In 1937, the Japanese landed on the island and hunted about 7,000 black-browed pit vipers and transported them to Taiwan, where they were made into poisonous liquor for sale;
In 1946, in order to build a shooting range, the former Soviet army landed on Dalian Snake Island and killed many black-browed pit vipers;
In 1958, a fire broke out on Dalian Snake Island, which lasted for 7 days, and more than 2,000 black-browed pit vipers were killed in this fire;
Between the 1960s and 1970s, Dalian Snake Island was unmanaged, and many people landed on the island to hunt black-browed pit vipers and make snake wine for sale.
In 1982, after a detailed survey of the black-browed pit viper on the island, the expedition estimated that the number of black-browed pit vipers on Dalian Snake Island was only about 9,000, which was the lowest value on record. From this time on, Dalian Snake Island was protected and a special nature reserve was set up, and "snake keepers" appeared on the island.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="15" > half a year rat eats a snake, and half a year a snake eats a rat</h1>
It is precisely under the efforts of the "snake keepers" that the number of black-browed pit vipers in Dalian Snake Island has gradually increased. However, the island's snakes still face a potential existential threat. The biggest threat comes from the brown rats on the island.
According to the scientists' research, the brown rats on the island are not indigenous. When Snake Island was first formed, the rats on the island were extinct. So where did these brown rats come from?
The culprit is still: humanity. According to the analysis of scientists, the brown rats on the island should follow the fishing boats that dock on Snake Island, that is, they were brought to Snake Island by humans and became invasive species on Dalian Snake Island. The brown rat is physically strong and grumpy. However, due to the lack of food on the island, it is also very difficult for brown rats to survive. However, fortunately, the feeding time of the brown rat and the black-browed pit viper is completely different, the brown rat is preying at night, and the black-browed pit viper is preying during the day, and the two are not in conflict.
However, the problem is that the black-browed viper needs "summer sleep" and "hibernation". In a dormant state, the black-browed pit viper is nestled motionless in its own snake hole, especially in winter, the temperature is particularly low, the black-browed pit viper is almost frozen due to its warming animal, the body temperature is very low, the activity of enzymes in the body is very low, and the movement is extremely slow. And because the island is so short of food, when the black-browed pit viper is dormant, the brown rat may enter the snake island to hunt the black-browed pit viper. This also makes the brown rat the biggest threat to the black-browed pit viper, but fortunately, the number of brown-browed pit vipers is not large, and it will not lead to a sharp decline in the number of black-browed pit vipers.
Of course, if the black-browed pit viper is in a normal state, the brown rat will not be the opponent of the black-browed pit viper. Especially in spring and autumn, if the black-browed pit viper does not hunt migratory birds, there is a certain probability that it will hunt brown house mice. That is to say, the black-browed pit viper and the brown rat are each other's delicacies, some people say that this is "half a year rat eats snakes, half a year snake eats rats", although slightly exaggerated, but basically this is the theory, the two sides in different seasons, each other's prey.
#Snake Island##Snake ##老鼠 #