Category
🐳
AnimalsTranscript
00:00 (dramatic music)
00:01 This snake can travel at speeds of up to 18 miles per hour.
00:05 This is the perengase adder, also called the sidewinder.
00:12 Sidewinding is the equivalent of the horse's gallop
00:21 in the snake world.
00:23 It's the fastest way to get around.
00:26 And speed aside, it's also the best way
00:28 for a snake to cross loose, shifting sand.
00:31 In sidewinding, only two parts of the snake
00:36 are on the ground simultaneously.
00:39 With the head and tail firmly anchoring the snake,
00:42 it throws its body forward in a loop.
00:45 When that lands, the head is thrust forward.
00:48 As soon as that lands, the tail is brought up, and so on.
00:52 This movement creates grip, much like a foot pushing down,
00:57 allowing the snake to move forward without sliding,
01:00 even on shifting sand.
01:02 Sidewinding is also a necessary heat coping behavior
01:09 in the scorched desert.
01:10 It reduces the body's contact with the hot sand.
01:15 But the sidewinder doesn't use this speed
01:23 to chase down prey.
01:25 The lizards are way too quick for that.
01:27 Instead, they find an area with good lizard activity,
01:34 often near grass tussocks, where the lizards seek shade.
01:37 Starting at the tail and working its way towards the head,
01:45 the sidewinder wiggles its body into the sand.
01:48 (dramatic music)
01:51 With only its eyes above the sand
02:00 and the desert wind blowing all traces
02:02 of its burial site away, the adder waits,
02:05 its potent venom ready to do the hard work.
02:08 A shovel-snouted lizard is also on the hunt.
02:12 He stops to pick up a bug.
02:17 Big mistake.
02:18 (dramatic music)
02:27 In this scorched desert, the lizard is not just a meal,
02:42 but an important source of water too.
02:47 He retreats into the cool sand to digest.
02:50 (dramatic music)
02:53 (dramatic music)
02:55 (dramatic music)
02:58 (dramatic music)
03:01 (dramatic music)
03:04 (dramatic music)
03:07 [BLANK_AUDIO]