Are These Invisible Ears on Snakes More Critical For Their Survival Than Previously Thought?

Scientists in Australia are looking to finally answer an age old question.

Transcript

00:00 (light music)

00:02 Snakes are known for their forked tongues

00:06 and slithering nature,

00:07 but scientists say despite not having any visible ears,

00:10 they're actually quite adept listeners.

00:11 Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia

00:14 wanted to test just how good at hearing they were,

00:16 setting up an experiment to test both air

00:18 and ground vibrational sounds.

00:20 What they found was that yes,

00:21 snakes can definitely hear the sounds,

00:23 but the reactions differed snake species to snake species.

00:26 The researchers found that taipans,

00:28 brown snakes and death adders,

00:29 would slither away from the direction

00:31 sounds were coming from.

00:32 Woma pythons on the other hand would go towards the sound.

00:34 So why the difference in snake behavior?

00:36 Well, the snakes that moved away from the sounds

00:38 are generally much smaller than the python,

00:40 which stretches nearly nine feet long

00:42 and weighs around 11 pounds,

00:44 meaning sounds more often lead to a meal

00:46 for an animal that has few natural predators.

00:48 They also tend to hunt larger prey as well,

00:50 meaning animals that are more likely

00:51 to make sounds in the bush.

00:53 With the researchers writing in their report,

00:55 quote, "We know very little about how most snake species

00:57 navigate situations and landscapes around the world,

01:00 but our study shows that sound may be an important part

01:03 of their sensory repertoire."

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