Context:
The recent study found that the dice snakes can fake their own death when being attacked by predators by putting on a theatrical display which includes oozing “mouthfuls” of blood.
Relevance:
GS III: Environment and Ecology
Dice Snake Overview:
- The Dice Snake, also known as a water snake, is a nonvenomous snake belonging to the family Colubridae, subfamily Natricinae.
- Female Dice Snakes are typically larger than males.
- Distribution: Found across much of Eurasia, including Egypt.
- Habitat: They inhabit areas near rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, grasslands, coastal regions, plantations, and urban areas.
Unique Behavior:
- They employ a tactic of feigning death to evade predators, a strategy to create a diversion and escape.
- Feigned death behavior is influenced by factors such as sex, injuries, body temperature, size, age, food presence in the stomach, female egg presence, and previous predator encounters.
- When threatened, they emit a foul-smelling secretion from their cloaca or simulate death.
- Threats: Facing habitat loss, pollution, road accidents, human persecution, and capture for the pet trade.
Conservation Status:
- Listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
-Source: The Hindu
