Studies Shows That Snakes Have Much Stronger Hearing Abilities

According to toxinologist Christina Zdenek from the University of Queensland in Australia, snakes are very frightened, timid creatures that hide most of the time. Zdenek added that people frequently believe that snakes are deaf because they lack external ears and can only detect vibrations through the ground and into their bodies.

Zdenek clarified that just one of the three sounds they played was airborne, while the other two simply caused ground vibrations. That enabled them to evaluate both types of "hearing," airborne and tactile, through the snakes' internal ears and belly scales.

Zdenek and associates evaluated sounds between 0 and 450 Hertz using 19 different kinds of snakes, including ones that move through water, swing in the trees, and wound their way across the ground. The various snake species had diverse reactions to the airborne sound, while snakes from the same genus had similar reactions. The team explains that this may indicate that responses are passable.

The nocturnal woma python was the largest snake tested, reaching lengths of up to 2.7 metres and 5 kilogrammes (8.9 feet and 11 pounds). Since there are fewer predators during the day, it makes sense that they are less cautious than smaller species (40 grammes to 2 kilogrammes) that are more active at night. These pythons also pursue monitor lizards, which are considerably larger prey. Even though some of the smallest snakes are among the most poisonous in the world, raptors, monitor lizards, and feral cats would hunt them throughout the day.