Bye bye to the year 2015. Last herp trip. Picos de Europa

[Gabriel Martínez]

don´t forget the Alytes please! Would love to see some pictures of my favourite genus and their habitats

Ok Dominik! There are also Alytes close to that place in Burgos

Cute little dogs, they tell me

Yes, it´s normal. But I think that we should avoid to talk about that, or snakes will be even more hated than now

[Berislav Horvatic]

Cute little dogs, they tell me

Yes, it´s normal. But I think that we should avoid to talk about that, or snakes will be even more hated than now

I must disagree. Nobody hates lions or tigers for being carnivores. Even those "cute little dogs", eaten by snakes, are
carnivores themselves, or at least were, while still "natural". Snakes must have been hated for some other reasons.

[Jeroen Speybroeck]

Maybe hate zoos instead of snakes? Anyone?

[Gabriel Martínez]

Cute little dogs, they tell me

Yes, it´s normal. But I think that we should avoid to talk about that, or snakes will be even more hated than now

I must disagree. Nobody hates lions or tigers for being carnivores. Even those "cute little dogs", eaten by snakes, are
carnivores themselves, or at least were, while still "natural". Snakes must have been hated for some other reasons.

Really you want to discuss about why snakes must be hated? Religion, bites of dangerous ones... the fact is that 95% of people hate snakes so if they know that sometimes they feed on cute puppies they will hate them more for sure (independent that the snake just eat and the "bad" in that film is the human that gives that food to them...)

So I think people usually is stupid, so it´s stupid to discuss about why snakes must be hated, the best in my opinion is to avoid that most people hear stories about snakes killing people, or eating puppies... to get a bit more of people that respect them...

[Berislav Horvatic]

Really you want to discuss about why snakes must be hated?

Feared, not hated. It's not the same thing. And I certainly don't want to discuss it. Enough scientific papers have already
been published on that issue. Human fears, including the fear of snakes, have been rationally explained, on evolutionary
grounds, at least to my taste and/or satisfaction. Sapienti sat.

the fact is that 95% of people hate snakes

The fact is that 95% of people have never seen an alive snake, except on TV, or something "electronic" or "digital" like that.
Regarding "hate", as opposed to "being afraid of", see above. And I do insist on the difference - it's not just a question of a
"bad" or "good" English, it's a substantial difference.

... the best in my opinion is to avoid that most people hear stories about snakes killing people, or eating puppies...
to get a bit more of people that respect them...

Well, granted, but what about the alleged words of Jesus, according to St. John (8:32): "Then you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free." Sounds good, and quite optimistic, doesn't it? (Of course, Pontius Pilatus had a "nasty"
question/answer: "What is truth"? ... But he ultimately "lost the case" - or at least the Christians claim to believe so...)
Personally, I don't believe either in Jesus, or in that general proposition as such, but maybe it just might be worth
(re)considering - at least regarding the present issue. Maybe, just maybe, the very truth - about snakes as quite "normal"
animals, not some kind of "monsters" - could set someone free, after all... free of their fears and/or prejudicies. I've
tried that out many times myself - in the field - and it almost always worked. With children, always, with adults, almost
always.