Some snakes are actually called that, but in fact, they don’t fly, they glide. These snake species, found only in the rainforests of South and Southeast Asia, are capable of traveling distances of more than 100 meters in the air, making 90-degree turns along the way. But they can’t lift off the ground, so technically they don’t fly. To glide, snakes have to start from a high place, such as treetops, in addition to modifying their shapes to improve aerodynamics. “When it’s in the air, its body is completely flattened, resembling the spoiler of a car”, says biologist Jake Socha, from the University of Chicago, in the United States, one of the world’s leading specialists in these animals. What scientists like Socha still haven’t been able to explain is why snakes risk these aerial adventures.
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One hypothesis is that they glide when fleeing predators – monkeys and other snakes – and chasing their prey – small lizards, birds, frogs and bats. Another thesis is that they use the resource simply to move from one place to another. There are five species of flying snakes in the world, all of the genus Chrysopelea. The smallest of them (Chrysopelea ornata) measures 60 centimeters and the largest (Chrysopelea pelias), 1.20 meters. But not even this big one threatens people. “These snakes have small fangs at the bottom of their mouths and inject a little venom, but they are harmless to humans,” says Socha, who has been stung several times by them.