Snakes have smooth heads, with no nose or ears like humans have. They have nostrils and eyes and a mouth, but that is about it. With no obvious ears, you start to question their ability to hear. People associate hearing with the ears of mammals. Our large ears allow us to pick up sounds, have discussions, and understand the world around us. Without such a thing, how would an animal be able to hear? The entire anatomy of a snake is different from that of a human. It is no surprise that this continues with the ears. They are different in a lot of ways from the ears we have.
Snake Ears
Snakes, again and obviously, do not have the large ears of mammals. This may restrict them on what noises they can pick up, but it does not mean they have no ears. Snake ears are holes on the sides of their heads. The placement is where you would expect them to be, but they are not the same as human ears on the inside, either. The ears of snakes connect to their jaws. The entire system is somewhat different from what we as humans have, but it is the ear. Instead of picking up sounds, though, they pick up vibrations.
Snake Hearing
The vibrations that snakes pick up is their hearing. They may not hear speaking and regular noises like we do, but they can pick up on crucial vibrations around them. The vibrations go through their ear and to their jaw, creating the sounds that they hear. This allows them to hear low frequency sounds above and around them. When they have prey moving around, or when there is a predator, those vibrations save their lives. Snakes are excellent at picking up these vibrations. If there is anything around them that requires their attention, like food or predators, they can pick it up and react. They use this as a key part of survival.
Snakes’ hearing is different from what we as humans experience. Everything about the hearing system is different from humans, but so are snakes in general. Their hearing using vibrations to the jaw to pick up low frequency sounds. They can make use of these vibrations to remain aware of their surroundings, looking for prey and predators. It works well and snakes have no trouble hearing what they need to hear. It is different, but it works.
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