Don't be Scared of Vipers - But Please Be Careful
Here's how to safely share Israel's trails with snakes and scorpions.
Dear Healthy Jew,
As the summer heats up, snake season is in full swing in Israel. Scorpions are also out and about.
Yes, there are lots of snakes and scorpions in the Land of Health. Many of them are poisonous, some deadly. The Palestine viper, a species indigenous to our region, is by far the most common venomous snake.
But don’t be afraid.
I’ve walked through most of the non-desert regions of the country, and although I’ve seen snakes a dozen or so times, I’ve never come close to being bitten by one. No promises for the future, but this Healthy Jew is far more worried about dangerous people than dangerous snakes.
From my experience and research, avoiding dangerous encounters is really simple, if we follow a few simple rules:
Never turn over large rocks or other debris.
Never walk in tall grass where you can’t clearly see the ground in front of you.
Wear long pants and closed shoes. (Hiking is serious business, not an afternoon at the beach.)
Snakes are not looking for you - don’t go out of your way to look for them!
When hiking at night, always look at the path ahead, preferably using a flashlight.
Be especially careful in the outskirts of cities and towns, and in ancient ruins.
Don’t enter caves or other underground spaces, at least not alone.
Don’t hike in the desert alone, certainly not off clearly marked paths.
You’ll notice that I didn’t say never to go off marked paths.
Although that’s what the official people advise, and of course you should listen to them, I can’t say I agree that’s necessary. (But make sure to check out the disclaimer at the bottom of this post!)
Oftentimes, the experience of exploring the Land means choosing a direction or landmark and just going there, jumping over whatever is necessary to reach it.
So don’t quote me on this, but if you’re an experienced hiker, and follow all my guidelines, you probably will survive an off-trail hike through the countryside, even in places frequented by snakes.
I said that I’ve seen snakes around a dozen times.
Many were crawling around ancient walls, which seems to be a place they like hanging out. The rest were as I walked along a trail and caught a glimpse of them racing away, far more scared of me than I was of them.
Because they run away so quickly, it’s hard to get pictures of them to share with you.
But here’s a dead snake I came across some years ago while running on a trail:
And this is something really cool:
The legless lizard, a snake that’s not really a snake.
I came across this fellow in the grass outside a cave. Unlike real snakes, he froze in place when I came close, so I was able to snap this picture.
But then when I turned around to take a video of him, after my eloquent intro, look what happened:
Finally, on another note, I was a bit disappointed that the Biblical Museum of Natural History’s snake exhibit only has boas and pythons - magnificent creatures, but they live thousands of miles away from Israel, in the rainforests and jungles of South America, Asia, and Africa.
I would have loved to see a live viper, even if Avital wouldn’t be able to hold it. But the guy there told me it’s not possible to get permits for poisonous snakes, so this is the best they can offer. Oh well.
Thank you for reading Healthy Jew.
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I look forward to hearing from you!
Be well,
Rabbi Shmuel Chaim Naiman
Please note: All content published on Healthy Jew is for informational and educational purposes only. Talk to a qualified professional before taking any action or substance that you read about here.
The UK's only scorpion colony resides in the walls of Sheerness Dockyard on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent BBC. This colony of yellow-tailed scorpions is believed to have arrived in the 18th century on ships carrying Italian masonry. While other scorpion sightings have occurred in the UK, this is the only place they've successfully established a long-term breeding colony, as to snakes we have two speices that are indigenous. The grass snake ( non-poisonious) and the Adder which is poisonious. However they are quick to vanish when they can sense us humans coming. Adders are most commonly found in Hundred Acre wood (Ashdown Forest) and the Lake District.
Rationally I know I should not be afraid of *all* snakes, but in all honesty, even reading this post and seeing the photos caused me anxiety. I believe I read a study once showing that even very young infants react to images of snakes -- suggesting an aversion to snakes is to some degree "hard-wired" in our brains.