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Snake news, features and articles

A yellow snake
There are over 3,000 species of snake in the world. (Image credit: Mark Kostich via Getty Images)

From the deadliest snakes such as black mambas and king cobras to the biggest snakes such as giant pythons and anacondas, Earth's serpents have a habit of slithering into our consciousness and instilling fear or fascination. We're driven by the latter here at Live Science, and that's why our expert writers and editors bring you strange snake stories, engaging facts about brown snakes and cottonmouth snakes, and more through our latest snake news, articles and features.

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Latest about Snakes

The dead python underneath twigs, leaves and other debris.

Florida bobcat bites the head off of 13-foot Burmese python in the Everglades

By Skyler Ware published

Wildlife experts believe that predators native to the Everglades are beginning to fight back against the invasive species of snake.

Snakes
A Burmese python in Florida hangs from a tree branch at dusk.

'An up-tempo version of Darwinian evolution': How a mega freeze in Florida may have caused Burmese pythons to evolve at a blindingly fast speed

By Stephen S. Hall published

"The 2010 cold snap may have created a subset of pythons better able to survive cold temperatures — and thus better adapted to spread beyond the northern boundaries of its current range."

Snakes
a photo of the skin beginning to shed from a snake's face

Why do snakes shed their skin?

By Emma Bryce published

It's a story that involves scales, sloughs — and spectacles.

Snakes
Sunda island pit viper ( Trimeresurus insularis ) on a branch. Photo taken in Jakarta.

Snake quiz: Let's ssseee what you know about these slithering reptiles

By Sascha Pare published

Quiz Test your knowledge of the secrets of snakes in this quiz.

Quiz
Person holding a snakes head while using a pointed plastic object to reveal a fang.

Venomous snake with 3 fangs may be the 'most dangerous death adder in the world'

By Jess Thomson published

A death adder at an Australian wildlife park found to have three fangs that all produce deadly neurotoxic venom.

Snakes

Snakes: Facts about one of the most iconic creatures in animal hiss-tory

By Richard Pallardy published

Discover interesting facts about snakes, from how they hunt and eat, to why they don't have legs.

Snakes
King cobra faces camera.

King cobra mystery that's puzzled scientists for 188 years finally solved

By Elise Poore published

Scientists identified four new species of king cobra from 154 museum specimens.

Snakes
a burmese python with its jaw stretched extremely wide as it swallows a large deer

'Truly primal': Watch Burmese python swallow deer whole in Florida Everglades by stretching its mouth to the absolute limit

By Hannah Osborne published

Female Burmese python measuring 14.8’ (4.5m) and weighing 115.2 lbs (52.3 kg) consuming a white-tailed deer weighing 76.9 lbs (34.9 kg) in southwestern Florida.

Snakes
Three snakes lying on a table

4-foot snake vomits up 2 smaller snakes — and 1 was still alive

By Harry Baker published

Wildlife officials in Georgia stumbled across a pair of snakes that had been "expelled" by a larger serpent, only to discover that one of the regurgitated victims was still alive.

Snakes
A Burmese Python (Python bivittatus) using its mouth to swallow the body of a Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus) in Bandarban District, Bangladesh.

Giant snake eaten alive by another giant snake in 1st-of-its-kind encounter

By James Bonthron published

When two top predatory animals come into contact, anything can happen. One eating the other whole, though, is certainly unexpected.

Snakes
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