While it's not exactly "Raptors in the Kitchen", today, in Community Ecology, Dr. Beck brought in his office-mate, a male gila monster named Jorge. Of particular interest to me was the reaction of my classmates. When they had been presented with a Northern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus), the vast majority recoiled. Yet, Jorge was instantly surrounded by intrigued students. Why the recoil for the snake (which was much more securely controlled), and not for the venomous lizard (whose venom "makes you wish you were dead")? It has to come down to some basal-level aversion to snakes. I just don't understand it. All animals (especially the venomous ones) should be handled properly and with a proper modicum of respect. No animal should be feared.
(Picture off of Wikipedia )
That is peculiar. There is an interesting phenomena at play. While most fear that which they do not understand, there are many that are intrigued by this lack of understanding. Many of these students are probably creeped out or actually afraid of snakes, so (like my fear of spiders) they seek out information that only reinforces their phobia. These same people likely haven't done as much research on Gila Monsters to understand their venomous ways.
ReplyDeleteIt's much more common to fear the thing they grew up seeing and reading about. I'm curious if you go to an area where Gila monsters are more common place and bring a type of snake or animal that is not local, will the students react in the same way? Will they recoil from Jorge and be intrigued by this new creature?