Carol Ofori: "What do you mean snakes can fly?!"

Carol Ofori: "What do you mean snakes can fly?!"

No snakes on a plane, but some snakes can really catch some air!

Flying snakes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16aGSx9gFO4

It seems like the stuff of nightmares, especially Carol's (who HATES snakes!).

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But there are no Hollywood special effects here. 

In the jungles of South and Southeast Asia, it's very real, although these snakes don't have wings and are not flapping through the air like birds.

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So technically they aren't really flying but gliding through the air like graceful creatures.

Except for the fact that if confronted with an airborne snake none of us would react gracefully.

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How it actually works is that these snakes are acting like parachuters.

These snakes prepare themselves for the free fall, by slithering to the end of a branch and will move into a hanging J-shape, then using the speed of the free fall it will then throw itself off the branch.

It then flattens itself into a flat C-shape, moving its body from one side to the other which propels it further and further through the air. 

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Funnily enough, these snakes are actually better at catching air than flying squirrels!

Though even scientists have had to admit that they don't actually know the reason for these reptiles taking flight, it could be to avoid other predators or to catch their own prey.

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Either way, it might be a while before Carol decides to brave the Asian wilderness. 


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Main image courtesy of YouTube

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