Family Life

06.09.10 |

If snakes makes you squirm, here's some good news. British researchers say the worldwide population of the slithering reptiles is noticeably on the decline. Records of 17 snake populations covering eight species shows snake populations suddenly began falling around 1998. That fact hints that hot weather that year from strong El Nino conditions could have played a part in the global deaths of many of the ground crawlers. Researchers found snake populations declined 90-percent for some species. Even the number of snakes in protected areas decreased, proof that a loss of wild habitat was not the sole reason for the decline. The findings are published in the journal "Biology Letters."