Researchers Explain Just How Flying Snakes Glide (Wait, There Are Flying Snakes Now?)

2020 is really turning into a banner year. As if we needed something else to worry about, apparently there’s such a thing as flying snakes. As if snakes aren’t terrifying enough just slithering around our legs willy-nilly, we literally just learned that some snakes can fly. How did we find out this horrifying information? Well, it’s because researchers at Virginia Tech figured out how these nightmare-fueling snakes actually soar through the air (inevitably straight towards your unprotected face).

Sure, we don’t have an uncompromising fear of snakes like Indiana Jones, but we can honestly do without ever seeing them in the wild, especially if they are flying through the air like some kind of slithering, long, squirmy, monstrous bird. But, since we now know this monstrosity exists, we definitely want to understand just how they’re able to fly.

One of the most common varieties is the Chrysopelea paradise. Luckily, it lives in Southeast Asia. This tree-dweller slithers around branches and launches itself from tree to tree. Scientists figured out that they do this by undulating their bodies as they’re propelled through the air.

They did this by putting motion-capture technology on seven snakes and recorded them as they jumped from tree to tree. They slowed down the footage to understand the various motions the horrific creatures were making.

Now that we know this, all we want to know is whether or not we should be staying indoors forever or at the very least investing in a few new, high-quality umbrellas.

Photo: Kristian Bell (Getty Images)

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