This year is the Year of the Snake in the Chinese Zodiac, where snakes have dual symbolism: people born in the Year of the Snake are seen as clever and tenacious, but snakes may also be viewed as dark — even evil. Those latter themes are similar to perceptions in many Western cultures.

“There's a big cultural myth around snakes,” says Marjorie Bercier, DMV, Dipl. ACZM, an assistant professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Those myths stretch from thousands of years ago — think the biblical tale of a snake tempting Eve into committing the original sin — to more recent pop culture, like the reputation of Slytherin House in the Harry Potter series. 

But behind what many view as a terrifying exterior, snakes are interesting and important creatures, says Bercier. They are essential for ecosystem health, provide valuable medical insights for humans, and mostly keep to themselves, unlike the aggressive persona they’re often given in television and movies. 

Bercier, once a snake skeptic, has learned to appreciate snakes over her more than decade-long career in veterinary medicine. She now has an 11-year-old pet ball python named Ellaria, after the Queen of Serpents in Game of Thrones. 

“I did the work of getting educated about how snakes are important, how to handle them safely,” Bercier says. “Now they're one of my favorite species to work with.”

Bercier recently spoke with Tufts Now to dispel some myths about snakes, and explain the value these misunderstood creatures bring to their environments. 

They help keep pests in check. 

Like many predators, snakes are pest-fighters. They prey on mice and rats, which can infest homes and businesses. “They do, essentially, natural pest control for us,” says Bercier. “That is one of their biggest ecological roles.” Some smaller snakes also consume insects, like spiders, cockroaches, and termites, which may damage property or spread disease. 

Many people view snakes as pests in their own right, but as long as they’re left alone, they won’t do much damage. You can make your yard and community available to wild snakes by reducing chemical use and giving them and their nests a wide berth if you do encounter them.

They’re adaptable.

Animals all have their own ecosystems, but different species of snakes live basically everywhere in the world outside of the poles, according to Bercier, who earned a Master of Public Health degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. Different snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica, and different species are adapted to humid, dry, warm and colder environments. “They are kind of everywhere,” she says. 

That said, snakes can also be vulnerable, and that can have consequences for humans.

Climate change, for example, is expected to increase the overall number of venomous snakes and cause them to spread into areas where they will come into contact with more people. That means rural areas — which generally have more space for snakes to roam and where people interact more often with nature—may see increases in dangerous interactions with snakes. Certain areas will also lose snake species as their climates become inhospitable. 

Changing temperatures can also contribute to snake disease. Snake fungal disease, which was first documented in the 1980s, may spread more readily in warm temperatures, for example. That disease affects snake skin, often near the mouth, and can lead to starvation and death. 

They aren’t generally aggressive. 

Despite their scary reputation, most snakes are actually relatively harmless. Less than a quarter of snake species are venomous at all, and an even smaller percentage, around 10%, are highly dangerous. 

When snakes meet humans in the wild, they generally try to avoid us as much as we try to avoid them. Snakes only bite when feeling threatened or scared, and some snakes will provide other warning signs before striking. The non-venomous hognose snake, for instance, will puff up its body and hiss if threatened. If that doesn’t work, it plays dead. If you see a snake, the best thing to do is keep away and not approach them.   

They can provide significant value to humans.

Some scientists have described animal venom as “mini bio-libraries” due to its potential for helping identify new drugs. Snake venom has already been used to develop some drugs, like captopril, which helps blood vessels tighten and may be given to patients after a heart attack, and the anti-clot drugs Aggrastat and eptifibatide. 

And there’s still a lot we don’t know about the toxins in snake venom and the pharmacological value they may provide. Less than 0.01% of the potential 10 to 50 million natural compounds in venom have been identified and characterized for possible drug use. 

Ultimately, snakes are an important part of the world they live in, even if they may be misunderstood. 

“They are a really important species to have in our ecosystem. They have a vital role to play,” says Bercier. “Don't judge a book by its cover—once you learn more about these animals and how cool they are and what they do for us, more people should love them.”