![]() ![]() The pipeline, which has a capacity of 55 billion cubic metres a year, is the single biggest Russian gas link to Europe. However, Germany said it saw no technical reason for the latest reduction, which comes as Russia and the West exchange economic blows in response to what Moscow calls its special military operation in Ukraine. GMT on Wednesday - a halving of the current, already reduced level - because it needed to halt the operation of a Siemens gas turbine at a compressor station on instructions from an industry watchdog. Gazprom said flows would fall to 33 million cubic metres per day from 4 a.m. As Shadowzee suggests, it is possible that the snake was cold and wrapped around her leg for warmth (this is the reason why "tame" snakes like to coil around their owner's arms), again not recognizing her as a living creature.Russia tightened its gas squeeze on Europe on Monday as Gazprom, Russia's state-owned energy corporation, said supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany would drop to just 20 per cent of capacity. It is possible that she was wearing an unusual perfume that caused the snake to misidentify her, or the clothes she was wearing made her leg resemble a small animal from the snake's perspective (snakes do not have especially good eyesight and mostly see motion). In your story, the only logical reason why the snake would coil around the girl's legs is if it didn't recognize her as a predator in the first place. Snakes will sometimes face down a predator and hiss to warn them off rather than turn away and flee because snakes are not very fast and fleeing could leave them vulnerable to attack from behind, but they won't approach a predator. If a venomous snake encounters a human and it has the opportunity to flee, it will do so - snake bites occur mainly because the snake is surprised or cornered. There is no reason for a snake to coil around a predator - doing so would make it more vulnerable to the predator's attack. animals small enough to effectively immobilize by binding them. This helps ensure a lethal dose is delivered and to keep the prey from escaping. Venomous snakes - especially those with less powerful venom - do occasionally coil around their prey to subdue them before delivering the bite, if they have the opportunity. So, why would a snake that has venom powerful enough to kill a person, squeeze its threat non-lethally before striking and injecting its venom? And importantly, is there anything besides muscle bulk that is required for the snake to be able to immobilize it's prey or threat via squeezing? ![]() And I would imagine that for big prey(like bigger than average for a similar sized snake), or prey that tend to flee faster than the snake can catch up, it would actually prove beneficial for the snake to squeeze the prey non-lethally first to immobilize it and then strike and envenomate the prey to kill it, and thus would be selected for, not against, as far as evolution is concerned, since it means more food for the snake which means a higher chance of surviving to next breeding season. I would imagine the squeeze would be to hold on as it climbs up to the perfect strike position. So, what could cause a venomous snake to squeeze its threat in a non-lethal manner? That along with the unusual symptoms(like blindness from a snakebite, that is pretty much unheard of, but the little girl does go blind) and the competition between scientists and doctors to figure out what is going on and how to cure it. This non-lethal squeeze from a venomous snake is part of what is fueling the suspense of my snakebite mystery story. Paramedics arrive and take her to the STU(snakebite treatment unit) of the nearest hospital Her brother and sister run to school to avoid getting snakebit themselves The snake fled back into the park and the girl starts bleeding at the bite site The snake struck again, this time at her arm The snake then hissed and hooded up like a cobra The snake coiled up around her legs like a python Here is what happened at the scene of the snakebite in my story: And yes, I know most venomous snakes in real life don't have the muscles to achieve such a squeeze, but that doesn't mean that a fictional snake can't both be venomous and have python-like muscles to achieve the non-lethal squeeze. It's not like it would be likely to cause the snake to be injured since snakes are extremely flexible.Īnd it wouldn't affect venom production most likely because a non-lethal squeeze doesn't affect selective pressure for venom. I have been told that it actually is more life threatening to the snake for it to squeeze it's prey or threat non-lethally if the snake is venomous. ![]() This is a key part of my snakebite mystery story, which I am thinking of making part of a medical mystery series.
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