Sidewinders

This snake can travel at speeds of up to 18 miles per hour. This is the peringays adder, also called the Sidewinder. Sidewinding is the equivalent of the horse's gallop in the snake world. It's the fastest way to get around. And speed aside, it's also the best way for a snake to cross loose, shifting sand. In Sidewinding, only two parts of the snake are on the ground simultaneously. With the head and tail firmly anchoring the snake, it throws its body forward in a loop. When that lands, the head is thrust forward. As soon as that lands, the tail is brought up, and so on. This movement creates grip, much Sidewinding is also a necessary heat coping behavior in the scorched desert. It reduces the body's contact with the hot sand. But the Sidewinder doesn't use this speed to chase down prey. The lizards are way too quick for that. Instead, they find an area with good lizard activity, often near grass tussocks, where the lizards seek shade. Starting at the tail and working its way towards the head, the Sidewinder wiggles its body into the sand. With only its eyes above the sand and the desert wind blowing all traces of its burial site away, the adder waits. Its potent venom ready to do the hard work. A shovel-snouted lizard is also on the hunt. He stops to pick up a bug. Big mistake. MUSIC In this scorched desert, the lizard is not just a meal, but an important source of water, too. He retreats into the cool sand to digest. . . . of experience. Skills idiotic. Woops.