Why are there no snakes in Iceland? Animals and plants of New Zealand - the unique nature of the country

Almost everyone fears or dislikes snakes. There are three types of people: 1% love snakes (pick up, play with, wind up at home), 94% would like to stay away from them. And there are 5% who are afraid of snakes more than anything. Everyone has such a friend: nod at any string - oh, snake! And that's it, he is already squealing and running away in horror. It's easier to die like that than to stay in a room with snakes. But how much do we know about snakes? Most people know next to nothing - let's fix that.

In fact, snakes kill people all the time.

Is there a place on earth without snakes?

Vessey's Snake, Maine's Pet

Don't mess with the black mamba

The serpent's eye is devoid of eyelids?

Lebanese commandos are so tough they eat live snakes

Voldemort did not accidentally call Nagini that

What do rattlesnakes rattle?

Fabulous boomslangs exist

Titanoboas were the largest snakes on Earth

Snake with a coin

Taipans are the most poisonous

The heart of a snake is movable inside its body.

The unique arrangement of internal organs is not at all human

Deadly poisonous or slightly toxic - best not to experiment

Snakes are reptiles that live on every continent, with the exception of ice-clad Antarctica, where cold-blooded creatures simply cannot survive. Ireland is an island, and there is not a single snake here, despite the fact that in the UK, on ​​an island located literally next door, they are found. The distance between them is about 80 km, they have very similar flora and fauna, climatic conditions. In any case, an inquisitive person will wonder why snakes are found and were found on one island for thousands of years, and on the other they have never been in the entire history of mankind.

If you think about it, consider the geological past of the planet, it will not be difficult to answer the question. The answer can be found when considering the ice ages of the planet.

Ice Ages and Reptile Settlement

Reptiles, as cold-blooded creatures, are attached to warmth, to the opportunity to bask at least short summer, otherwise they cannot be mobile, they cannot exist. Ice ages occur periodically, the exact interval has not been clarified by scientists, however, geological surveys allow us to make some assumptions. Every few million years, the climate on the planet becomes colder, the polar ice caps move south, covering larger areas, and then, with warming, recede.

AT last time the ice shells built up about 110,000 years ago, and about 10,000 years ago they began to recede, liberating Britain in particular. Since the lands in the north of Europe and the nearby islands again became fertile, the migration of people and animals to these spaces began. While the water level was low due to the fact that not all the ice had melted, and part of the water of the World Ocean was contained in glaciers, excellent conditions were created for the settlement of living beings. They easily entered the territories, which, when the water level rose, became islands, along land bridges.

The bridge between the future island of Great Britain and Ireland was the first to be flooded, during this period there were still many glaciers that prevented the normal life of snakes. Britain, on the other hand, was connected with the mainland for about 2 thousand more years, during which time the climate managed to become even milder, snakes were able to move to the island from the mainland before the formation of the English Channel. But they could not get to Ireland, it was already separated by ocean waters.

The legend of snakes and St. Patrick

In addition to the scientific explanation, there is also a legend that tells how St. Patrick drove the snakes out of the island. The Christian legend tells that the saint gathered snakes on Mount Crow, ordering them to throw themselves into the waters. But the oldest, cunning snake did not listen to him. Then Patrick argued with him that he could not fit in the chest because of his size. Proving the opposite, the serpent climbed into the chest, where the saint closed it, and then also threw it into the water.

Interesting fact: Ireland is not the only island without snakes. They are not on many other islands, even large ones - in Greenland, Hawaii, New Zealand. They cannot swim long distances, except for sea ​​snakes remaining predominantly in the water element.

Is it possible to bring snakes to places where they do not exist?

The modern climate of Ireland creates all the conditions for the habitat of reptiles, and in particular, snakes. But they exist only within private collections, in zoos, terrariums. The fact is that it is extremely fraught to bring new species to where they were not originally there, to release them into the open environment of an established ecosystem. They can cause serious damage by changing the balance of already established food chains, destroying native species, exterminating them for food, or depriving natural prey, occupying places suitable for life, breeding.

An animal species that is accidentally or intentionally introduced into established ecosystems is called invasive. Once in the ecosystem of the island, where birds are used to nesting freely, the snake is able to exterminate the chicks, attack them until they are completely destroyed. In such conditions, the number of snakes will increase grossly, due to the availability of food and the absence of natural enemies.

In addition, snakes can exterminate rodents and other small animals, which are usually located at the base of the food chain, serving as food for local medium-sized predators. This situation will create a threat of extinction for endemic island species and will affect people's lives. That is why it is unacceptable.

Thus, snakes do not live in Ireland because they simply could not get there. This island separated from the mainland during the early melting of ice masses that arose during global cooling earlier. When the island was connected to the mainland, it was still too cold for snakes. Later, they could not get there because of the water barrier. The modern climate of the island allows snakes to settle, live in these territories, but this is dangerous for already established ecosystems.

If you hate snakes and want to avoid them at all costs, you should definitely go to New Zealand. After all, snakes are simply prohibited there (so much so that even their very existence is illegal).

This means not only that you will never find a snake in the New Zealand wild (even if you do, it will soon be mercilessly destroyed). It is also not allowed to have snakes as pets there. They are not allowed to be kept in zoos, research facilities or anywhere else. In this case, the owner of the snake will not get off with a small fine - just ask Nathan Bush about it.

Bush bought a pet snake in 2011. When she was discovered, he was brought to trial and sentenced to four months in prison. That's how seriously New Zealand opposed to snakes. In essence, if a New Zealander simply finds out about the existence of a snake in his country, he is required by law to report it to the authorities in order to help keep the country completely free of these reptiles.

Snakes are completely absent, at least on land in New Zealand. Fighting their sea brethren, as you know, is a little more difficult. land species snakes are not allowed in the country for the reason that none of them are native to the New Zealand islands.

New Zealand is famous for many things, including as the “land of the hobbits” (it was in this country that the filming of the film “The Lord of the Rings” took place). And, as it turns out, there you can meet a hissing Gollum rather than a real snake. This is simply amazing, given the proximity to southern Australia - home to some of the most dangerous snakes peace.

New Zealand is one of the few territories in the world where there are no snakes at all. In addition to her, these are Greenland, Antarctica and partially the Hawaiian Islands. So, if you are afraid of crawling reptiles, now you know where you should go on vacation!

An old Irish legend says that when Saint Patrick christened the country, he drove all the snakes from the Emerald Peninsula. First, the reptiles were gathered on the top of Crow Mountain, and then in the name of the Lord they were ordered to throw themselves into the sea. Historians believe that the patron saint of Ireland did a lot for the country, but the expulsion of snakes cannot be attributed to his merits. The truth is that there have never been creeping reptiles on this island nation.

Archaeological data

Let's start with historical and archaeological data. Ireland is a northern island nation. Not a single archaeological excavation in the country has been able to find any signs of snake fossils. Historians believe that for a long time, even before the islands broke away from the land, it was dominated by cold climate and there was a realm of ice. Thus, reptiles were in no hurry to occupy the territory of modern Ireland. And after the warming happened, the British Isles became independent objects. Only now the snakes living in Europe on land could not reach northern latitudes. Before them appeared an impressive obstacle in the form of melted glaciers, leveled with sea water.

Animal migration

After the last ice age began the migration of animals from Europe. This was about 10,000 years ago. Then the lands of Ireland and England did not acquire their modern shape, but they gradually dumped annoying glaciers into the sea. First of all, large mammals began to develop new territories: wild boars, bears and lynxes. It is believed that Ireland and England were divided between themselves more than 8,500 years ago. The British Isles completely separated from Europe 6,500 years ago. And this means that the snakes had two thousand years to have time to penetrate the territory of modern Britain. And so it happened, at present, snakes, copperheads and vipers live in Foggy Albion.

Other places where there are no snakes

In addition to Ireland, there are other island states and regions on Earth. major countries where there are no snakes. For example, there are no snakes in Greenland, New Zealand, Hawaii, Antarctica, parts of Canada and northern Russia. It turns out that Saint Patrick was too busy exorcising evil spirits. Well, if apart from jokes, snakes deserved contempt among Irish Christians. People here have a pathological fear of reptiles and still blame them for the expulsion of Eve from paradise.

The former patron was depicted in the form of a snake

It is also known that the Celtic god of fertility was depicted as a reptile. His name was Cernunnos, and it was he who was worshiped locals before the accession to the island of Christianity. It is believed that the legend of the expulsion of snakes came from here. Saint Patrick replaced his predecessor and got rid of the reminder. However, we already know the truth, and it is confirmed by scientists Nigel Monaghan, custodian natural history in National Museum Ireland in Dublin, and Mark Ryan, expert of the Center medical sciences at Louisiana State University.

The only exception

Snakes are found on all continents of the Earth except Antarctica, so their complete absence on the island of Ireland seems strange. What is the reason for ignoring the reptiles of this region?

First, Ireland is an island separated from Great Britain by a strait 80 kilometers wide. Such a distance for snakes living on land cannot be overcome. But why then do snakes live in Great Britain, which is also an island and is separated from the mainland by a fairly wide English Channel?

The reason for such a strange resettlement of snakes should be sought in geological history our planet. Throughout its existence, the Earth goes through ice ages - repeated stages lasting several million years, when, due to a sharp cooling of the climate, a significant increase in ice sheets occurs. Last Ice Age ( component ice age) began on the planet about 110,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago. Most of Northern Europe, bound by permafrost, finally freed itself from the ice that covered the British Isles.

Primitive tribes and animals began to migrate to the islands. But not all creatures could penetrate deep into the islands, where the cold climate continued to persist. Among them were snakes, which at first settled only in the south of Great Britain. The remaining glaciers continued to melt, gradually flooding the land road between Ireland and the UK. Thus was formed the North Strait between the two islands. Great Britain, however, remained connected with the mainland for another 2,000 years, until it became cut off from it by the strait that we call the English Channel.

It turns out that the snakes simply did not have enough time to populate Ireland, which at that time was still too cold for them for most reptiles. The snakes still managed to populate Great Britain, gradually moving deeper into the island along with climate warming.

For those who are not satisfied with the scientific explanation for the absence of snakes in Ireland, there is a beautiful legend. It tells that the island was saved from snakes by the Christian discoverer Saint Patrick, who gathered all the reptiles on Mount Crow and ordered them to jump into the water. Only one old kite disobeyed and remained on the mountain. Then Patrick had to resort to cunning and argue with the snake that he would not be able to fit into a nearby wooden chest. The snake, wanting to prove Patrick wrong, climbed into the box, which the man immediately closed and threw into the sea. So Saint Patrick rid Ireland of snakes.

Be that as it may, in fact, the absence of snakes is typical not only for Ireland, but also for such large islands as New Zealand, Hawaii, Iceland and Greenland. But this is not always beneficial for the territory. Accidentally dropped into wildlife a snake (for example, one that has escaped from a zoo or pet store) may become invasive species and cause irreparable damage environment destroying native species. Such a picture is observed on the island of Guam, where snakes were absent until recently. But the brown boiga accidentally introduced into the ecosystem, able to climb trees perfectly, multiplied and became a real disaster for local birds, almost completely exterminating the population of birds.