A-luring Tails
Posted by Aubrey on March 25, 2003
Q: What are the learned behaviors and instincts of a water moccasin?
A: In general, reptiles function mostly on instinctive behavior. However, snakes can certainly learn too. Anyone that has had a snake as a pet knows that over time most snakes become accustomed to being handled and are less defensive when picked up - it learns that you're not a threat. Furthermore, a wild snake learns its own surroundings over time and knows where to look for food, where to seek shelter, where to find water, etc.
Animals with higher intelligence, such as mammals and birds, tend to rely more on learned behaviors than the lower animals. If we take that to the extreme, we see that humans are the most likely to use learned behaviors in their daily lives, although we still have a few instinctive behaviors too.
John Wiessinger ( March 29, 2003)