I find snakes incredibly beautiful in form and function. Hypnotic to watch in action. There was a scene on NPR of a snake hanging from a tree in order to catch any bat it could latch onto as thousands of them were leaving their daytime lairs. It snatched one out of the air and slowly manipulated it to swallow it tail first, it's helpless leathery appendages compressed out ahead of it and its screaming little face to be seen right to the bitter end.