Flying Snake to Ground Snake

The ornate flying snake (Chrysopelea ornata) is a type of colubrid snake that lives in the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia. This type of snake has the ability to glide from tree to tree as a way to pursue their prey and stay safe from predators. It utilizes the strong friction created by its scales and the branches to position itself, facilitate its launch, and to properly latch on to the branch it lands on. In the air they flatten their bodies to create lift allowing them to glide for long distances, as much as 100m. In the first drawing we can see the snake positioned in a branch and in its gliding state. In the second drawing, due to deforestation and global warming, its environment got turned into a dry plain which led the snake to drop its flying abilities and turn into a brown ground snake.