What snakes are afraid of?

PREDATORS. It is hard to believe but snakes have many enemies. Large birds, wild boars, mongooses, raccoons, foxes, coyotes and even other snakes are a few of the dangers snakes fall prey to. Many people find it surprising that the largest and the scariest snakes can be afraid of anything, but it is true. read more

Ophidiophobia or ophiophobia is a particular type of specific phobia, the abnormal fear of snakes. It is sometimes called by a more general term, herpetophobia, fear of reptiles or amphibians. The word comes from the Greek words "ophis" (ὄφις) which refers to snake, and "phobia" (φοβία) meaning fear. read more

Snakes typically are afraid of what preys on them, or otherwise endangers them. This includes predators like eagles, hawks, weasels and other snakes. They are also afraid of things that might injure them, like humans, horses, or fire. read more

"The idea is that throughout evolutionary history, humans that learned quickly to fear snakes would have been at an advantage to survive and reproduce," said Vanessa LoBue, a post-doctoral fellow in psychology at the University of Virginia. read more