I recently found out that there are two snakes that "growl" just like many mammals do. Believe it, the two snakes are, the King Cobra and the Rat Snake!
I gained this knowledge by watching National Geographic as well as Animal Planet, and the Discovery Channel, all of, who, excel in their own productions on the subject.
There was a lot of information on the King Cobra and how it's able to growl. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of information on the Rat Snake, just the stating of them growling as well as the King Cobra using the same parts within their bodies.
The reason why these two snakes do growl:
The King Cobra and the Rat Snake would fill air into it's lungs and then will constrict it's body quickly. This move would force air into it's "glottis" which is between it's vocal cords. What comes out is a long, growl, which sounds like a dogs growl! And it really does sound like a dog, and who would think that the growl was coming from a snake. The growl lets you know that the King and the Rat Snake are upset, angry ands just about to pounce on whatever is bothering them or prey. Remember, that the King Cobra is also a venomous snake and can grow up to 18 feet. The Rat Snake doesn't grow as long nor are they venomous. Rat Snakes are basically, constrictors.
Animal Planet states about the King Cobra, "A special resonating chamber in the snake's tracheal (tracheal diverticula) lung may give the sound its characteristic low pitch, which is unique among snakes. (The tracheal lung is an enlarged throat that wraps around the windpipe, allowing the king cobra to breathe while it's swallowing prey.)"
There are many different Rat Snakes all over the world similar in size, the longest, 7 feet and varying in colors. I wasn't able to find anything more about them, if they all growled or just a special few. And I searched many websites about the Rat Snakes and still wasn't able to find enough info on the subject.
And that's their story! If anybody has found any information about which Rat Snake does growl [or if they all do], please leave a comment and list the website where you found the info, so that I can update my article, here.
