Snakes probably do not understand why the skunk with poor eyesight passed them by, and the hawk with excellent eyesight passed them by, but old spot might meet another snake of the same fate and produce little ones with those same traits. If the snake could look in the mirror it might realize that it looks so much like the habitat in the background that it is nearly invisible, explaining the hawk getting new gaudy neighbor rusty red last week instead. If the same snake gets overconfident and wanders over to the other side of the hill, crawling curiously through the rusty red rocks, he will probably never know what hit him. I believe snakes can form clades as micro specific as from the top of the hill to the bottom, or east side to west side of the same hill, ravine, riverbank, etc. These should be those slight variations that can be easily line bred and easily bred out. Some might even be able to change within their lifetime, over the course of so many sheds, to the more favorable trait. They all have that range within their dna, I guess.

[ Show Entire Thread ]