Editor�s Note

OK, I�ll admit it: I saw the movie Anacondas. It wasn�t even my fault � I had every intention of seeing something more intellectually stimulating � Garfield, perhaps � or doing something more constructive, like counting the number of people in white shirts in the shopping mall.

People have strange ideas about snakes (like they�re slimy, slithery, scary and other words beginning with �s�). Well, I�d like to stand up for these misunderstood creatures. If there�s one animal on this planet more maligned than all the others (except maybe the spider), it�s the poor snake.

For the record, snakes rarely bite unless they are threatened (well, how would you like to be poked with a stick?). They aren�t even slimy � they�re dry and cool to the touch. And they certainly aren�t evil, whatever superstitious mumbo-jumbo you might have heard.

A few weeks ago I was in Krabi for my annual three-day holiday (us editors don�t have everything easy, you know). During one point on the trip, my companions and myself saw a small snake on the path. Before I could even get a look at it, my tour guide pelted the poor thing with rocks and stones even after it had beaten a retreat.

Would he have done this had the animal in question been a stray dog? I doubt it. Are you more at risk of being attacked by a stray dog? Almost certainly. So next time you come across a snake, give it a wide berth, but don�t attack it just for the sake of it. You wouldn�t kill a dog, so why kill a snake?

Happy reading.

Matt Leppard, Editor
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