Buzz
Dr. Bruce Young from A.T. Still University of Health Sciences has spent years exploring the strange and often amusing realm of snake sounds. In a recent chat with mental_floss, he shared some of his intriguing discoveries.
1. Snakes Can Growl.
During his undergraduate years, Young first encountered a growling king cobra while working as a distraction handler in a venomous snake exhibit. The massive snake, towering over him, emitted a sound reminiscent of an aggressive German shepherd.
While most would panic in such a situation, Young was captivated. This encounter sparked his interest in studying the reasons and mechanisms behind snake vocalizations, a field that was largely unexplored at the time.
2. Snakes Can Shriek.
Young began his research by exploring the fundamentals: the mechanics of snake hisses, their purpose, and why these hisses tend to sound alike. While most snakes produce sounds like hissing, rattling, or scale-rubbing to create a dry, rasping noise, some species stand out with more unusual vocalizations.
Among these, the pine snake (Pituophis melanoleucus) is particularly unique. Young found that this species possesses a vocal cord, allowing its hisses and bellows to take on a distinct, shriek-like tone.
3. Snakes Use Flatulence as a Defense Mechanism.
Snakes are inherently intimidating, and many of their sounds are designed to amplify this fear factor. These noises primarily serve to deter predators and protect the snake from potential threats.
However, there’s also the matter of flatulence. Young discovered that when threatened, several snake species emit popping noises by expelling air through vents near their tails. According to Young, 'It’s essentially snake flatulence.'
Similar to growls or hisses, these fart-like sounds are meant to intimidate. While humans might find them amusing, they could very well frighten non-human predators.
4. Helium Levels the Playing Field.
Young’s research repeatedly circled back to the king cobra’s growl. He was fascinated by how a snake could produce such a sound. After examining preserved cobras, he believed he had uncovered the mechanism.
Just as blowing across a beer bottle creates various sounds, Young identified small sacs in the king cobra’s trachea. He theorized that air passing over these sacs could generate a deep, rumbling growl through resonance.
The tone of resonant sounds varies depending on the gas involved. To test his theory, Young took an unconventional approach: he exposed several king cobras to helium.
Young explains, 'I placed large king cobras in a room, agitated them, and recorded their growls.' After establishing a baseline, he introduced helium. The results confirmed his hypothesis—the helium altered the pitch of the snakes' growls, leaving him with 'large, furious king cobras growling in high-pitched, Mickey Mouse-like voices.'
5. Snakes Have Excellent Hearing.
Young clarifies a common misconception: 'Many believe snakes are deaf, but they can actually hear certain frequencies better than house cats.' Sound waves pass through their head muscles and bones, vibrating against their inner ears.
However, this doesn’t imply that snakes communicate with each other. Most snake-produced sounds occur at frequencies other snakes can’t detect. Young notes that the king cobra’s growl, which resonates at a very low frequency (when not altered by helium), is one of the few sounds potentially audible to other snakes.
6. Staying Safe Around Snakes Is Simple—Just Step Back.
Young explains, 'Nearly all snake sounds we’re familiar with occur during defensive situations.'
In essence, if a snake is vocalizing, 'it’s because you’ve startled it. The best course of action is to leave it undisturbed.'
All audio recordings are provided by Young, who adds, 'Occasionally, you can hear me dodging an agitated snake in the background.'
