It depends what you mean by dangerous! certainly, not
all snakes are poisonous, and of those which are, only a very small number are
dangerous to people. But in the same way that people could be said to be a
danger to the things they eat, snakes are dangerous to their prey.
Most Snakes kill their prey-rats,
mice and other small animals- by at scientists call constriction, which means
coiling round the prey and squeezing it to death. Usually the snake then
swallows the prey whole it has specially jaws to enable it to swallow creatures
much wider than itself.
There are only three types of snake
in Britain; the slow worm is not a snake at all but a legless lizard. The first
of these is the grass snake, which is not poisonous and eats mice, frogs and
newts. Its size may frighten people It has been known to reach a length of some
five and three quarter feet. The second British Snake, the smooth snake, is
non-poisonous. It grows only to a length of about thirty inches, and eats
insects and lizard. The last snake to be found in Britain is the common vipers
adder, This one is poisonous, but although its bite needs immediate attention.
it is unlikely that its bite would kill you. The adder usually has a long zigzag
band edged with a double row of dark spots on its back, where as the grass and
smooth snakes have indistinct marking or speckles. The grass snake also has a
yellowish white collar just behind its head, so you can easily tell the
difference.
