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I am Rom Whitaker, and I love snakes. I know what you’re thinking. Many people fear snakes. But when I spot one, I just want to get close and study it.

I’ve liked snakes since I was a kid. I met my first one when I was just four years old. It was a garter snake. Ever since then, I’ve been smitten by snakes.

I have traveled much of the world looking for snakes. A scientist who studies snakes is called a herpetologist. Most of the time, I go after snakes in the wild. But sometimes, they come after me.

My most surprising meeting with a snake took place in India. I was camping in a forest when I saw a snake dart under a bush. Thinking it was a harmless rat snake, I leaped into the bush and grabbed its tail.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Hearing a strange growl, I looked up. A king cobra was glaring down at me. My heart was in my throat!

Hood spread, the cobra looked like it was about to strike me. That’s something I didn’t want to happen. The king cobra is the longest venomous snake. It can be 18 feet long.

Usually, king cobras stay away from people. They bite only when they are surprised. I’m sure grabbing its tail surprised this one.

I let go of the cobra’s tail. Luckily, the snake just moved on. Of course, I couldn’t let it get away. I sprang to my feet and ran after the cobra. I captured it in my sleeping bag. That way, I could study it later.

Since then, king cobras have become one of my favorite snakes. I’m working to protect the forests where these amazing creatures live. I want to make sure cobras never die out, or become extinct.

My first encounter with a cobra was scary. But there is little reason to be afraid of all snakes. Worldwide there are 2,400 kinds, or species, of snake. Only 270 species have a venom, or poison, that’s dangerous to humans.

Most snakes get a bad rap. They are not slimy, and most stay away from people. In fact, snakes often help us by eating pests that carry diseases, such as rats.

The more you know about snakes, the less scared you will be. Let’s go on a snake safari and meet some of the world’s most amazing snakes. We’ll have to be careful because a few of them are very dangerous. Some could even kill you.

All snakes are reptiles. They are related to lizards, turtles, and crocodiles. All reptiles are cold-blooded. That means their bodies don't make heat. Instead, they take in heat from the air and the ground.

Many kinds of snakes call the United States home. But one stands out. It’s the rattlesnake.

The rattlesnake is known for the rattle at the end of its tail. It uses the rattle to warn enemies that it is about to strike. But the rattle is not the only thing special about rattlesnakes.

Rattlesnakes are pit vipers. These snakes have a heat-sensing organ. Using this organ, a pit viper can tell another creature’s location, even in the dark.

Heat is just one way pit vipers find other creatures. Like most other snakes, they can see and smell. But snakes have a special way of smelling. They use their tongues.

A snake flicks its forked tongue to pick up scents. The forks on its tongue help the snake tell the direction the smell came from.

Sometimes it’s hard for me to tell where I might find a snake. One night I was driving in Arizona, looking for rattlesnakes. Snakes often move onto roads in the evening. The roads are warmer than the countryside. Heat from the roads helps cold-blooded snakes stay warm.

Anyway, I was slowly driving down this road, looking for snakes. Suddenly a lyre snake fell from a tree. It landed right in front of my car.

I stopped to see what had happened. The snake was lying on the road swallowing a bat. It must have caught the bat in the tree, lost its balance, and fallen. I’m not sure how the snake got that bat down, wings and all. But it did.

You might be surprised that some snakes eat bats. But snakes eat many different kinds of animals.

Snakes like lots of different meals. Most snakes eat birds, fish, frogs, lizards, and rats. Some larger snakes snack on monkeys.

Snakes often swallow their prey whole and alive. Venomous snakes, however, usually wait until their venom kills prey. And constrictors squeeze prey until it stops breathing. Then they swallow the animal.

After a meal, most snakes rest in the sun. This helps them digest their catch. But it can also be a dangerous time. After eating, snakes are usually slow. They can't move around much. That makes them an easy meal for another predator.

Snakes can go for days, weeks, and, in some cases, years between meals. Snakes don't need a lot of food to keep their bodies warm. That's because they are cold-blooded. Snakes also store fat in their bodies. They can live off that fat for a long time.

It seems like everywhere I go I find snakes. During a trip to Costa Rica, I got to see lots of different snakes.

One of the snakes I caught up with was a boa constrictor. I heard some monkeys screaming. That’s usually a sign that danger is near.

The monkeys were right. They had spotted a boa. Monkeys are one of its favorite foods. Anyway, I caught the snake. It wasn’t easy. Boas can grow to be 14 feet long.

You should see a boa’s mouth. It is lined with 100 sharp teeth. Its bite really hurts. I know. This one bit me because I was too slow.

Next I met an Allen’s coral snake. You really have to be careful around coral snakes. They are very venomous.

Coral snakes are also colorful. They have bands of red, black, white, or yellow along their bodies. Predators know these colors. They stay away from the deadly snake.

If a predator does get too close, the coral snake coils around itself. This trick makes the snake's tail look like its head. If the hungry predator goes after the tail, the snake can easily get away.

I hope our snake safari has helped you to look at snakes in a new way. You may never want to get as close to snakes as I do. In fact, you shouldn’t! Until you become an expert, you never know which ones are dangerous. But now that you know something about snakes, I'm sure you'll want to learn more.

Well, I’m off on another snake safari in India. This time I’ll try not to grab a king cobra’s tail—at least not accidentally.

// ONLINE EXTRA //

You can learn more about two-headed snakes at National Geographic News.

National Geographic: King Cobra
Come face-to-fang with the world’s largest venomous snake by slithering along a life-size king cobra.

National Geographic News: Snake Hunter
Join snake scientist Rom Whitaker in Costa Rica.

eNature: Reptiles and Amphibians
Can't tell a rat snake from a gopher snake? Then wriggle through these photos and facts.

PBS Nature: Snakes
Watch video, check out photos, and learn how snake venom can save lives.

UMass Amherst: Snake Mythology
Snakes have slithered into the folklore of many cultures. Learn how to sort fact from fiction.