Do you know why there are no snakes in Ireland?

As you know, this week - more precisely, on March 17 - was celebrated St. Patrick's Day, the patron saint of Ireland. This famous saint, toasted not only by the Irish, but by brewers and supporters around the world, would have authored a series of miracles. And among his most important achievements would be to expel all snakes from Ireland.

According to legend, Paddy - as the saint is affectionately known - decided to chase after all the snakes until they ended up dying at sea after the bores tried to attack him while he was fasting for 40 days on top of a hill. For while the story is captivating, the fact is that there are really no snakes in Ireland. But why not?

Too cold and too much water

According to James Owen of National Geographic, Ireland is one of the few places in the world, along with - take note, ophidophobic! - Antarctica, New Zealand, Iceland, Hawaii and Greenland, for example, which do not have (native) snakes in their territory. Incidentally, there is no evidence, either in historical records or in fossil collections that have already been discovered in the country, that there ever was a snake there.

This means that St. Paddy, in fact, never had to expel any inconvenient serpents ... But, getting back to the point, scientists suggest that the lack of snakes in Ireland is the work of the last Ice Age. It is believed that the cold would have made the island an inhospitable place for reptiles that, being "cold-blooded" animals, depend on the heat of the environment to survive.

Then, when the Ice Age ended - some 10, 000 years ago - glaciers began to retreat to the north of the planet, and some animals, including snakes, began to venture into Europe. However, in the case of Ireland, the seas surrounding the island may have hindered the snakes from reaching the island.

What about England?

You may now be asking, "And in England, which is also an island, why are there snakes there then?" For about 6, 500 years ago, the territory was linked to the European continent by an earth arm, which allowed animals - including some species of snakes - to migrate there.

However, the existing land link between England and Ireland was severed 2, 000 years before that, when sea levels began to rise due to the melting of glaciers and the territory was still too cold to house reptiles. Thus, although some animals migrated to Irish land - such as bobcats, wild boars and grizzly bears - snakes could not get there until the place was isolated by the waters.