ABSTRACT
Attitudes toward snakes, and to Australian wildlife in general, have changed profoundly over recent years. Once reviled as primitive and inefficient, these creatures are now seen as intricately adapted to conditions in Australia. And there is an increasing appreciation of the vital ecological role that reptiles play within Australia, such that we need to conserve these animals if we are to maintain functional ecosystems. Snakes and humans have been encountering each other for millions of years, and Snake Detection Theory suggests that some of the most distinctive features of human beings—including our eyesight and some of the ways our brains function—evolved as a response to the danger posed by deadly snakes.
