SAPCA

🐍 July 16 is World Snake Day!

Today is all about celebrating snakes, raising awareness, and highlighting the important role these remarkable reptiles play in our ecosystems.

At the African Snakebite Institute, snake education isn't something we focus on just once a year—it's what we do every day. Through our website, the free ASI Snakes app, books, newsletters, media articles, and our online and in-person training courses, we're fortunate to reach hundreds of thousands of people each year. One of the most rewarding parts of our journey has been seeing attitudes towards snakes gradually change as knowledge replaces fear.

A huge thank you to our amazing community of snake ambassadors, course delegates, app users, social media followers, and everyone who shares reliable snake information with others. Every conversation, course attended, and post shared helps dispel myths, promote understanding, and create a safer future for both people and snakes.

Happy World Snake Day—and thank you for being part of the journey!

“This study places what may be the final nail in the coffin for the prevailing view that more oxygen made ancient insects bigger.”

Learn more: https://scim.ag/44pSt43

Africa's dormice are far more diverse than previously thought.

New research published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution by Ara Monadjem and an international team reconstructs the evolutionary history of the endemic dormouse genus Graphiurus, uncovering 24 distinct evolutionary lineages and highlighting the urgent need to revise their taxonomy and conserve range-restricted species threatened by habitat loss.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790326000199?via%3Dihub

Yellow Jackets are often characterized as "aggressive," but they actually sting defensively to protect themselves or their nest.