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Whenever it comes to the mysteries of nature, the physical abilities of animals astonish human understanding. When we imagine snakes, images of creatures crawling on the ground, hiding in bushes or clinging to the branches of trees come to mind. But can you imagine that a snake can jump from a height of 50 to 100 meters and swim hundreds of feet in the air without any wings, membranes or legs? This is not a fictional story but a reality. found in forests ‘Chrysopelea’ species, which the world ‘Flying Snake’ Known by the name of, flies in the air exactly like a skilled paraglider. When scientists decoded its flying technique with high-speed cameras, researchers around the world were stunned to see the physics and aerodynamics behind it.
From a scientific point of view, this snake does not fly upwards on its own power like birds, but it does so by using gravity and air resistance. ‘Gliding’ Does. But the surprising thing is that flying squirrels or bats have a special skin membrane (Patagium), whereas this snake does not have anything like this. Despite this it completes its flight in these stages:
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Jumping in ‘J’ shape: Before taking flight, the snake goes to the tip of a high branch of a tree. There it folds the front part of its body in the shape of the English letter ‘J’ and suddenly jumps into the void like a spring.
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Flattening the body into a ‘U’ shape: As soon as the snake comes into the air, it spreads its ribs on both sides. Due to this, its normal round cylindrical body becomes completely flattened from below and crescent-shaped or concave from above.
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Natural Parachute and Aerofoil: As soon as the body is flattened, its lower part starts acting like a mini parachute or aerofoil. This shape blocks the air coming from below (Air Resistance), due to which the speed of the snake’s fall suddenly slows down and it gets lift in the air.
While diving in the air, this snake does not remain absolutely still, but rapidly waves its body right and left, which in scientific language is called ‘Undulation’ It is said.
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Balance and Stability: High-speed cameras have revealed that waving the body in the air in an ‘S’ shape does not disturb the snake’s balance and it is saved from getting injured by falling straight.
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Mid-air turn (change of direction): The snake not only swims in a straight line, but can also turn up to 90 degrees in mid-air by rotating its tail and head. If it sees any obstacle or predator in front, it changes its path in the air and lands on the safe branch of another tree.
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Travel up to 100 meters: This snake can easily reach a distance of 80 to 100 feet (24 to 30 meters) from one tree to another by swimming in the air and if the wind is favorable, even greater distances.
A total of 5 species of flying snakes have been identified, of which the ‘Paradise Tree Snake’ (Chrysopelea paradisi) and the ‘Golden Tree Snake’ (Chrysopelea ornata) are the most prominent:
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habitat: This species is found mainly in the rainforests of South-East Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam) as well as in the dense forests of the Western Ghats of India, the northeastern states and Sri Lanka.
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Poison level: It is a matter of relief for the common people that this snake is not fatal for humans. It is ‘mildly venomous’ and rear-fanged. Its mild venom is effective only for hunting lizards, frogs, bats and small birds. Its bite can cause only minor swelling or itching in humans, there is no danger to life.
This extraordinary gliding ability of the snake in the air has also inspired robotics and aerospace engineers. Scientists associated with American defense and space research are studying the physical movements of this snake and preparing such bio-inspired drones and robots, which can carry out espionage and rescue operations by floating in the air in tight places (disaster areas or forests) even without big wings.