Who is afraid of snakes?

Many people show a great aversion to snakes. Is this a natural fear, or do we become frightened of snakes because we are taught to fear them? It seems as though we are taught to be afraid of them, for a tiny child shows no fear of snakes at all.

A baby chimpanzee, on the other hand, even if it is reared from birth in a cage, will show marked signs of fear and alarm if it is placed near to a snake. This shows that the baby chimpanzee has an innate or in-bred fear of snakes, probably because baby chimpanzees would be likely to encounter snakes in the wild which would be potentially dangerous to them.