On the island of Golem Grad in North Macedonia, the dice snake has developed a unique defense mechanism that has been studied by researchers. When threatened by predators, the snakes defend themselves by feigning death. They do this by smearing a mixture of their own feces and pungent compounds on their bodies and lying motionless with their mouths open and tongues sticking out. Some snakes even vomit blood to complete the act.
A study published in Biology Letters on May 8 highlighted the effectiveness of playing dead as a defense mechanism in many species across the animal kingdom. The study was conducted by Vukasin Bjelica, a PhD student and author of the paper, who focused on how dice snakes on Golem Grad Island use this behavior to avoid being eaten by birds.
Bjelica’s research involved capturing and examining 263 snakes to observe their defensive behaviors when provoked. The study found that adult snakes were more likely to successfully feign death while immature snakes did so for a shorter period of time.
The strategy of playing dead seems to be most effective in environments where predators are hunting the dice snake, such as on Golem Grad Island where they are hunted by birds. Further research is needed to understand this behavior in other snake populations across different environments. Playing dead can be a risky but effective way for the dice snake to ward off predators and increase its chances of survival.
