Scientists in Australia are looking to finally answer an age old question.
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00:00Snakes are known for their forked tongues and slithering nature, but scientists say
00:08despite not having any visible ears, they're actually quite adept listeners.
00:12Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia wanted to test just how good
00:15at hearing they were, setting up an experiment to test both air and ground vibrational sounds.
00:20What they found was that yes, snakes can definitely hear the sounds, but the reactions differed
00:24snake species to snake species.
00:26The researchers found that taipans, brown snakes, and death adders would slither away
00:30from the direction sounds were coming from.
00:32Woma pythons, on the other hand, would go towards the sound.
00:35So why the difference in snake behavior?
00:36Well, the snakes that moved away from the sounds are generally much smaller than the
00:40python, which stretches nearly 9 feet long and weighs around 11 pounds, meaning sounds
00:45more often lead to a meal for an animal that has few natural predators.
00:48They also tend to hunt larger prey as well, meaning animals that are more likely to make
00:52sounds in the bush.
00:53But the researchers writing in their report, quote, We know very little about how most
00:57snake species navigate situations and landscapes around the world, but our study shows that
01:01sound may be an important part of their sensory repertoire.