Did you know that there are no snakes in New Zealand? And, not only are they not in wildlife, you won’t even find them in local zoos and research laboratories.
Snakes are literally outlawed in New Zealand. Keeping and breeding reptiles of this species is strictly prohibited. You will be fined even if you simply saw a snake and did not report it to the appropriate authorities. However, according to the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries, which is responsible, among other things, for environmental safety, the likelihood of such an incident is virtually zero, because there really are no snakes in the country.

True, we need to clarify, terrestrial snakes. Two species of sea snakes - the yellow-bellied bonito (Pelamis platurus - pictured) and the sea krait (Laticauda colubrina) - are still found in New Zealand waters. However, these snakes never crawl onto land, and cases of their appearance near the New Zealand coast are quite rare. However, both species are poisonous, but do not pose a serious danger to humans, since they are too small for their venom to penetrate human skin when bitten.

By the way, if land snakes did appear in New Zealand, they would inevitably exterminate the main New Zealand symbol - the flightless kiwi bird (pictured).
Also thanks to the lack dangerous snakes And poisonous spiders, New Zealand considered one of the safest countries in the world for outdoor travel.
So why are there no snakes in New Zealand?

For a long time it was believed that there were never snakes on the New Zealand islands. However, in the early 2000s, researchers from New Zealand and Australia discovered the remains of these reptiles (National Geographic News: “Fossil Find Proves New Zealand Once Had Snakes”). This discovery proved that 15-20 million years ago, snakes in New Zealand, apparently, were still found, but for some reason they completely died out.

It is believed that this could have happened during the Ice Age, when a sharp cold snap occurred in New Zealand. Subsequently, the geographical isolation of the islands was the reason that this species did not appear in New Zealand again.

Of course, if desired, creeping reptiles could have been introduced into the country long ago. For example, from neighboring Australia, where snakes are the most different types more than enough. However, the strict policies of the New Zealand authorities leave little chance that the snakes will ever appear in New Zealand again.

You're probably wondering, what does Malakhov have to do with it? I just made a Coub with Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, and at the same time I decided to add some useful information to the post. I'm done, kick me

According to the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries, which is responsible, among other things, for environmental safety, there are not a single land snake in this country. And the authorities want to maintain this state of affairs, so snakes are outlawed.

It's not just keeping or breeding land snakes that is illegal: even if you just saw a snake and didn't report it to the authorities, you could face a fine. There are no snakes in zoos or research laboratories. However, there are at least 2 species of sea snakes off the coast of New Zealand, but they are not counted because they spend their entire lives in the water.

Apart from New Zealand, snakes are not found in Greenland, Antarctica and some of the Hawaiian Islands.

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Snakes are found on every continent on Earth except Antarctica, so their complete absence on the island of Ireland seems strange. What causes reptiles to ignore this region?

Firstly, Ireland is an island separated from Great Britain by a strait 80 kilometers wide. Snakes living on land cannot overcome such a distance. But why then do snakes live in Great Britain, which is also an island and separated from the mainland by a fairly wide English Channel?

The reason for such a strange distribution of snakes should be sought in the geological history of our planet. Over the course of its existence, the Earth goes through ice ages - repeated stages lasting several million years when, due to a sharp cooling in the climate, significant growth of ice sheets occurs. Last Ice Age ( component Ice Age) began on the planet about 110,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago. Much of northern Europe, bound by permafrost, was finally freed from the ice that covered the British Isles.

Primitive tribes and animals began to migrate to the islands. But not all creatures could penetrate deep into the islands, where the cold climate continued to persist. Among them were snakes, which initially settled only in the south of Great Britain. The remaining glaciers continued to melt, gradually flooding the land route between Ireland and Great Britain. This is how the Northern Strait was formed between the two islands. Great Britain remained connected to the mainland for another 2,000 years, until it found itself cut off from it by the strait we call the English Channel.

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It turns out that snakes simply did not have enough time to populate Ireland, which at that time was still too cold for them for most reptiles. Snakes still managed to populate Great Britain, gradually moving deeper into the island along with climate warming.

For those who are not satisfied with the scientific explanation for the absence of snakes in Ireland, there is a beautiful legend. It tells that the island was saved from snakes by the Christian discoverer Saint Patrick, who gathered all the reptiles on Mount Crow and ordered them to throw themselves into the water. Only one old snake disobeyed and remained on the mountain. Then Patrick had to resort to cunning and bet with the snake that he would not be able to fit into a wooden chest standing nearby. The snake, wanting to prove Patrick wrong, climbed into the box, which the man immediately closed and threw into the sea. This is how Saint Patrick rid Ireland of snakes.

Be that as it may, the absence of snakes is typical not only for Ireland, but also for such large islands as New Zealand, Hawaii, Iceland and Greenland. But this does not always bring benefits to the territory. A snake accidentally introduced into the wild (for example, one that escaped from a zoo or pet store) can become an invasive species and cause irreparable damage environment, destroying native species. This picture is observed on the island of Guam, where snakes were absent until recently. But the brown boyga, which was able to climb trees very well, was accidentally introduced into the ecosystem, multiplied and became a real disaster for local birds, almost completely exterminating the bird population.

If you hate snakes and want to avoid encountering them at all costs, you should definitely go to New Zealand. After all, snakes are simply prohibited there (so much so that even their very existence is illegal).

Not only does this mean that you will never find a snake in the New Zealand wild (even if you do, it will soon be mercilessly destroyed). You can't keep snakes as pets there either. They are prohibited from being kept in zoos, research institutions or anywhere else. However, the owner of the snake will not get off with a small fine - just ask Nathan Bush.

In 2011, Bush purchased a pet snake. When she was discovered, he was brought to trial and sentenced to four months in prison. That's how serious New Zealand is about snakes. Essentially, if a New Zealander simply becomes aware of the existence of a snake in their country, they are legally obligated to report it to the authorities to help keep the country completely free of these reptiles.

Snakes are completely absent, at least on land in New Zealand. Fighting their sea counterparts, as you understand, is a little more difficult. Land snake species are not allowed into the country because none of them are native to the New Zealand islands.

New Zealand is famous for many things, including as the “land of the hobbits” (it was in this country that the film “The Lord of the Rings” was filmed). And, as it turns out, you can find a hissing Gollum there rather than a real snake. This is simply surprising given its proximity to southern Australia, home to some of the world's most dangerous snakes.

New Zealand is one of the few areas in the world where there are no snakes at all. Besides it, these are Greenland, Antarctica and partly the Hawaiian Islands. So if you are afraid of creepy crawlies, now you know where to go on holiday!

New Zealand is considered one of the most beautiful and safest countries on Earth. Here a large number of green hills, beautiful fields that have no edge, clean rivers and clear lakes, fresh air, excellent ecology.

On the territory of this country, snakes are not found both in nature and in entertainment and scientific centers. In this state, such reptiles are prohibited by law. It is prohibited to keep them or breed them for any purpose. And if you find a snake somewhere and do not inform the authorities, you face a fine.

The Ministry of Industry provided the authorities with data according to which there are no snakes in the country at all. We are talking specifically about terrestrial species, while there are still marine species in the waters of this state. These reptiles do not appear on land and are extremely rare near the New Zealand coast. Their bites are poisonous, but these animals are very small in size and when bitten, their poison cannot penetrate human skin, so they are not at all dangerous to people.

Perhaps in New Zealand, snakes are banned by the authorities because they would definitely exterminate the main state symbol - a wingless bird called “kiwi”. This would ultimately lead to the complete extinction of the species, because these birds live only here and you will not find them anywhere else. By the way, the word kiwi is also used to describe the inhabitants of the country, which is not at all offensive to them.

It is precisely because there are no snakes, large predators, mosquitoes and dangerous spiders here that this state is considered the most favorable and safe for tourists.

What is the reason for the lack of snakes in New Zealand?

Previously it was assumed that these reptiles did not exist in this state at all. But in the 2000s, researchers and archaeologists discovered the remains of snakes. Thanks to this discovery, it was proven that 20-23 million years ago these reptiles still lived here, but for some reason they still became extinct.

One of the reasons for the complete extinction of snakes is considered to be the ice age in the country. It is believed that the land snakes died out due to the extreme cold during this time and did not re-introduce themselves due to the fact that the islands are geographically isolated from each other.

However, they could well have appeared, for example, from Australia, where they are found in large numbers. But thanks to the harsh attitude of New Zealand policy towards these reptiles, they have little chance of resuming their habitat here.