Snakes climb poles using terrifying new technique

New video footage will no doubt fuel the nightmares of full-fledged ophidiophobes and those who just cringe at the thought of a snake climbing up the nearest pole for a snack.

Researchers have found that the brown arboreal snake can twist its lasso-shaped body to use a novel form of locomotion to climb a smooth vertical pole.

Scientists say that this roping locomotion only becomes the fifth mode of locomotion known to snakes, with lateral winding, lateral undulation, rectilinear (in which the muscles of the ribs successively flex to act almost like a series of legs) and the accordion (a combination of gripping, pulling or pushing with different points of the body).

The find came as a surprise during a project in Guam where researchers were working to protect the nests of Micronesian starlings from snakes. Three-foot-long cylindrical metal baffles were assembled to prevent snakes from climbing into the nesting boxes.

It turns out that tree snakes had an application for this.

“Initially, the baffle worked, for the most part,” Tom Seibert, professor emeritus of wildlife biology at Colorado State University, said in a statement. “Then all of a sudden we saw this snake forming what looked like a lasso around the cylinder and wiggling its body upward. We watched that part of the video about 15 times. It was a shock. that I have never seen compare to this. ”

Seibert is co-author of an article on the discovery published Monday in the journal Cell Press Current Biology.

The lasso method is different from the accordion form of movement, in which snakes typically grip a surface at two or more points on their body, then climb by pulling or pushing upwards. Instead, the researchers explain, the tree snake wrapped its lower body around the cylinder like a lasso to create a unique grip area that it then uses to push itself straight across the smooth metal surface. The process is broken down in more detail in the video above.

“The snake has these little elbows in the loop of the lasso that allow it to move upward by moving the location of each elbow,” University of Cincinnati co-author Bruce Jayne said, adding that to go full lassoing is not really easy for snakes. “Even though they can climb using this mode, it pushes them to their limits. The snakes stop for long periods to rest.”

So the next time you think the bird’s nest on top of a light pole is safe from a snake attack, think again. Even a smooth metal pole could look like a ladder for a brown snake.

Researchers say the discovery could lead to new methods to better protect starlings and other birds in the future.

“I’ve been working on snake locomotion for 40 years and here we’ve found a whole new way to get around,” Jayne said. “Chances are there is more to discover.”