Do Snakes have friends? Social behaviour of a solitary species

Snakes, the slithering creatures of the wild, are one of the most feared animals on the planet. From a man living in rural India, to one in Australia, snakes could make both of them shiver and turn their blood cold. Their silent movement, their swift bite, and of course, their death coil, are all fearful factors when interacting with a snake, venomous or not.
And while snakes are often seen and thought to be solitary in nature, not interacting with their own species, some say that snakes can actually make friends!

Snakes have always invoked terror in people’s minds, and the fear is not new. It has existed for thousands of years, especially when antivenoms did not exist, and people lost countless friends and family members to snake bites.
And so be it myths, religious texts, or movies, snakes are seen as symbols of danger or evil.

Even in the ‘snake’ species, there are certain snakes that are non-venomous (but can still hurt humans!) and others that are venomous and spread their venom through the fangs.
And in all of them, some snakes are particularly venomous and should always be avoided. For example, the Inland Taipan has the most toxic venom of any snake, and its single bite can kill multiple humans owing to the amount of venom it spews. Then there is the black mamba, which is not just venomous but also super quick in striking its prey.
And in India, we have the King Cobra, one of the longest venomous snakes in the world, that can spew enough venom in one bite to kill an elephant.

Since time immemorial, whenever people spotted a snake, be it inside their homes or in the dried lands, or in the jungles, they usually only spot one snake. A single snake was enough to scare people, and solitary is what people assumed snakes were. They did not live in groups, did not hunt for prey in packs, and they did not even take turns protecting their young ones!
And so snakes were thought to be anti-social animals who showed no affection, loyalty, or companionship.

Well, in general it is assumed that snakes do not make any friends. They do not form friendships like many mammals do, but interact with other snakes of their species during mating season or when food is abundant and so they don’t have to fight for it. But in a broader sense, most people assume that they do not seek out company or develop long-term bonds with others of their kind.

To put the rumours and assumptions to test, a study was conducted back in 2020 to determine if certain snakes made friends or lived in social groups. Researchers in Canada found that ‘Garter snakes’ preferred to spend time with certain other snakes over others.
In the study titled ‘Aggregation and social interaction in garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis)’, it was found that “research demonstrates that these snakes actively seek out social interaction and prefer to join and remain with larger groups and that their social interaction patterns are influenced by consistent individual differences in boldness and sociability.”

According to reports, it was also found that female Garter snakes were more likely to form groups, and when the snakes were moved around, they found a way to connect with their previous ‘friends’ or group.

As the study was conducted on captive snakes and not in the wild, some people are still unsure about a snake's nature. But then comes another ‘snake friendship’ that is doing rounds on the internet. And this friendship is between a pet snake and its human. People who keep snakes as pets feel that their snakes recognise them, respond to their presence, and ‘hiss’ a certain way to send their message to them. They smile, dress up, ask for food, get ‘tucked’ into bed, and so much more by their favourite humans.
But researchers also say that this ‘friendship’ is more about familiarity than emotion.

While some people enjoy keeping snakes as pets and forming a friendship with them, there are still some dangers associated with it. There have been instances when the pet snake stopped eating its food, coiled around the human often, and it was later deduced that the snake was attempting to eat the owner itself and was taking his or her size into mind.
And even when a non-venomous snake is triggered, it has plenty of ways to harm a human, the biggest one being their death grip.