Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have to give a persuasive speech on Monday for class and I'm going to do mine on how snakes (esspecially large constrictors) are not the devil in flesh and are acctually magnificant creatures. Can anyone give me some info or places where to find info that would help me out. Much appreciated!

Thanks in advance, Rich
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1.0 Burmese Python

cant help you there. But why do people think large snakes are the devil. If they even read the bible they would know that the bible says something like "The devil POSING as a SERPENT" not snake, it never says all serpents all the devil. Find a bible and find the qoute and use it in your speech.
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
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1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

I agree; in fact, there are passages in which God tells us to be "crafty" like the serpent and "the serpent was the most beautiful of all creatures".....He did a great job creating them! In terms of persuading your audience to like large snakes from an environmental standpoint, they are valuable in many ways:
1) in some countries they provide a source of revenue for local tribe people who sell their skins to make a living (not exactly something we snake lovers enjoy but it is an important part of certain cultures
2) in some cultures, particularly south american indians, large constrictors like the anaconda are worshipped and play an integral role in these peoples' lives
3) large constrictors help cull large mammal populations.
4) large constrictors are an important food source for MANY animals...that is, baby boas and pythons are food for many mammals, birds and other reptiles
5) these animals are just one small part of a much larger biodiverse picture that is a part of our natural history and as such, needs our protection.

There are many more reasons but hopefully this will help your cause. Rob

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation (IL)

Thanks for the info guys. Things like the rattle snake roundups and people runing screaming from snakes are wrong and that is what I want to persuade against. There is a lot of unwarrented fear of them.
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1.0 Ball Python
1.0 Burmese Python