Every creature is born and dies; there is no escaping it. By nature's law, what is born must die, but the span differs from animal to animal. There is an insect called the mayfly that usually lives up to 24 hours, a very short life. The Greenland shark, meanwhile, has the longest lifespan on earth: some Greenland sharks can live 500 years or more.

So how long does a snake live? Snakes are not as dangerous as they seem; they can even be called somewhat harmless animals. It is because people fear snakes that so many frightening stories surround them. There are about 3,500 species of snake in the world, not a small number, but only a handful are venomous.

A snake's lifespan cannot be stated precisely, and it differs from place to place. The average lifespan of a snake is usually 5 to 15 years, though snakes of the python family can live about 40 years.

• Pet snakes, such as ball pythons and corn snakes, can live 15-30 years, reaching a long life with good care.
• Wild snakes live 5-15 years, usually less than pet snakes because of predators, disease and food shortage.
• Large pythons and boas can live 20-30 years or more.
• Small venomous snakes such as cobras and vipers usually live 10-20 years.

Snakes that live in settled areas with heavy human movement have comparatively shorter lives, because they face a greater risk of death there. Snakes in populated areas usually live 8 to 10 years. But snakes such as the common krait, cobra, Russell's viper and saw-scaled viper live much longer, 15 years or more.

When it comes to the longest-lived snake, the python tops the list. Snake experts say pythons usually live 25 to 40 years. The python has no venom, but it kills its prey by sheer strength.

It is usually hard to tell a snake's exact age by looking at it, but its size, skin condition and sheen give a rough idea. After a certain point it becomes even harder, because, like humans, a snake stops growing in length after a time.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.