Negative Stigma
I took this image of this Saw-scaled Viper two weeks ago and since then have been thinking back to this night and how incredible it was. In the last month, I've been taking more interest in trying to learn more about local nocturnal species. It's been a fresh and challenging process, but in the best kind of way. This Viper species is one of many fascinating species that you can find at night in the seemingly empty deserts and wadis.
I've also had the time to reflect on some of the negative stigma many people hold towards snakes, geckos, insects and arachnids. I think being cautious and having a fear of something that can cause you harm is a healthy and natural instinct. However, something being dangerous is not inherently synonymous with it being out to harm/kill you. All the snakes I've encountered so far have either remained in-situ or otherwise been trying to flee us out fear (now isn't that ironic). This experience with Emirates Nature-WWF made me realise just how relaxed these beauties are and how they're just trying exist and get on with their own lives. In my own life, I've sadly seen more dead snakes than I have live ones, and it often seems like theyve died because of head trauma that was likely inflicted by humans out of pure panic and lack of education/understanding. I truly hope we can all work together to change that outcome for the future.
I hope to discuss more on this topic soon. I also owe to thank to many amazing people like Theo Busschau, Lawrence Hylton, Georgina Pereira, Nasser Obeidat, Drew Gardner, Ray Maichin, Nimish Peters, Matthew Sullivn and many more for doing what they do and sharing their passion with others.
