The Character of Instinct

Katy Pelchy

The Character of Instinct

Experience of a Natural Setting

When walking along the Nolan Trail, the class had the pleasure of experiencing a small snake that happened to be crossing the path. Someone attempted to pick up and handle the snake, which it very clearly did not appreciate as it struck at any limb that came near. I found myself remarking at the blatant wild streak in the creature, and its inherent aggression that served to keep it alive.

I couldn’t help but compare the untouchable snake to my own docile pets at home. The tiny wild snake’s behavior was radically different from my nearly 4 foot ball python, who I’m able to carelessly grab and throw around my neck without a second thought. Even compared to my more similar Colombian boa, who is much more restless and quicker to take on the defense than the ball, the wild snake’s behavior was rather shocking. Neither of my pets has ever stuck at anything that wasn’t a rodent, and to see the wild serpent strike so violently with hardly a cause was an eye-opener to the instinct present in all creatures. I realized that even my relatively friendly pets could choose to turn on me in less than a second given the right stimulus.

The situation reminds me of a discussion from class where a cat’s “play” is really its inability to overcome the instinct of the chase. I saw a parallel in the event with the snake, and this discussion helped me to see that while pets are considerably tame, they are still animals intent on survival. Really, all creatures are wild no matter their background or level of tameness. And really, aren’t we all just a slave to our inherent instincts at the core? Even human?