About this book
An hourly guide that follows twenty-four snakes as they find mates, hunt, and survive a changing world.
Does a snake crossing your path trigger delight or dread? The answer is clear for celebrated biologist Marty Crump, who shows us that snakes deserve our respect, admiration, and protection. In her short book Snake Day, each chapter introduces a single snake during a single hour, highlighting twenty-four different species from around the globe.
In the dark morning of a Brazilian forest, we avoid stepping on a jararaca, a nocturnal viper. If she bites, her venom will make our blood pressure – and us – drop. A synthetic version of this venom is now a life-saving drug, used to treat hypertension and heart failure. Later in the morning, in the Zagros Mountains that trace Iran's northwest border, there's enough light to see a tiny arachnid wiggling on the ground. When a warbler dives for a meal, he realises his mistake too late; that spider is actually a snake's tail, and a spider-tailed horned viper makes a meal of the bird. In the early afternoon, in a pine forest outside of Atlanta, Georgia, an eastern hognose snake will strike at us – a bluff – and then roll over and play dead. By the end of our snake day, we'll have glimpsed the diversity of this unique group of reptiles, met serpentine friends who frighten and fascinate, and learned how humans can protect these amazing species.
For each chapter, celebrated artist Stuart Patience has depicted these scenes with stunning pen-and-ink illustrations. Working together to narrate and illustrate these unique moments in time, Crump and Patience have created an engaging read that is a perfect way to spend an hour or two – and a true gift for readers, amateur scientists, and anyone who recoils from or relishes snake visits.
Contents
Preface
Artist's Note
Midnight Gans's Egg-Eater (Africa)
1 AM Burmese Python (Asia, Introduced Elsewhere)
2 AM Brahminy Blindsnake (Asia, Introduced Elsewhere)
3 AM Jararaca (South America)
4 AM Malagasy Cat-Eyed Snake (Madagascar)
5 AM Green Anaconda (South America)
6 AM Puff Adder (Africa)
7 AM Eastern Coral Snake (North America)
8 AM European Adder (Asia, Europe)
9 AM Iranian Spider-Tailed Viper (Asia)
10 AM Red-Sided Garter Snake (North America)
11 AM Paradise Tree Snake (Asia)
Noon Broad-Headed Snake (Australia)
1 PM Eastern Hognose Snake (North America)
2 PM Turtle-Headed Sea Snake (Asia, Australia, New Caledonia)
3 PM European Grass Snake (Asia, Europe)
4 PM Tiger Keelback (Asia)
5 PM Aesculapian Snake (Asia, Europe)
6 PM Red-Bellied Blacksnake (Australia)
7 PM Neotropical Snail-Eater (South America)
8 PM Black-Necked Spitting Cobra (Africa)
9 PM Northern Pacific Rattlesnake (North America)
10 PM White-Bellied Mangrove Snake (Asia, Australia, Papua New Guinea)
11 PM Boa Constrictor (South America)
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Further Reading
Index
Customer Reviews
Biography
Marty Crump is an adjunct professor of biology at Utah State and Northern Arizona Universities. She is the author or coauthor of fourteen books, including Frog Day; A Year with Nature; and Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog, Adder's Fork and Lizard's Leg, all published by the University of Chicago Press.
Stuart Patience is a London-based illustrator whose hand-drawn work has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, The New Yorker, The New York Times, New Scientist, and the World Wildlife Fund. He is the illustrator of Mushroom Day.
