The Coral Snake
By Hayden B.
It is under and over you, in the trees and in the leaves
of the Amazon Rainforest. It can be seen so be watchful. You will know
the Coral snake if you see it because of the three colors of its scales.
The Coral Snakes scales are three different colors. These
colors are red, yellow and black. If those colors are in that order, then
it really is a Coral Snake. Otherwise that snake is not really a Coral
Snake. Remember "If red touches yellow you’re a dead fellow but if red
touches black you’re ok Jack". This snake can be three feet long and weigh
two to five ponds. It is long and scaly. If you look real close at the
snakes mouth you will see a little black tongue that flicks in and out
of the snakes mouth to smell it’s prey.
This serpent is a full-blooded carnivore. It preys on other
animals, even other snakes. The Coral Snake also eats unwary birds, lizards,
and amphibians. If the snake sinks its teeth into the victim and is able
to administer the full force of it’s poison then its prey is as good as
dead. It uses its venom to kill that it has adapted over time.
The Coral snake has gained many beneficial adaptations over
time. One of its best adaptations is its venom. Its venom is deadly enough
to kill within seconds. This snake has also developed its tongue or Jacopson’s
organ to the point where it is able to track and smell its prey. It has
also adapted ways to protect itself like its colors and its many scales.
A number of ways of protection help the Coral Snake survive.
Its colors give a message to other animals saying that if they mess with
them they will get bitten. This snake poison is another defense unfortunately
and fortunately it has to work to release it. That is why Coral Snakes
tend to chew when biting. Another defense of this snake is to burrow or
dig really fast into the ground. Some snakes protect themselves by copying
the colors of the Coral Snake. The environment in which a Coral Snake lives
also protects him.
The Coral Snake lives in the Amazon Rainforest. It lives
anywhere from the top of the canopy to the forest floor. The canopy is
the top layer of the trees in the Rainforest. The forest floor is the floor
of the Rainforest. The forest floor is really dark, while the canopy has
lots of light. This proves that The Coral Snake is an amazing creature,
because of the Variety of types of are it can live in. Unfortunately this
snake has enemies such as birds and other snakes.
The coral snake must protect it self and its babies from
birds and the King Snake. First to have babies the Coral snake does a few
things. The Coral Snake first looks for a mate but that is hard to do because
the female often tries to eat the male before they mate. The Coral Snake
usually looks for a mate during the month of June to the ending part of
spring. Then the female snake lays two to three eggs during mid summer.
The babies are born about six and a half to seven and a half inches thick.
The parents had laid the babies in a safe place and pretty much left them
to care for them selves. The parents do stay kind of close by to protect
them from predators. But the babies probably don’t need them to protect
them because often the babies are more poisonous than the grown Coral Snakes.
They are often more poisonous because they must protect themselves, luckily
the strength of the poison fades over time.
It is obvious that the coral snake is one of the most dangerous
yet most intriguing animals. This Snake is a creature that deserves respect.
The Coral Snake is a figurehead, a creature that other snakes strive to
be like. Save the rainforest, protect its animals and respect the Coral
Snake.
