Why do snakes stick out their tongues?
Snakes flick their tongues to smell the air around them, buddy!
Pip’s answer
- Snakes flick their tongues to smell the air around them, buddy!
- The tongue catches tiny smells floating by, too small to see.
- Then a special spot in their mouth reads the smells, like a nose.
- Wow-ee, a forked tongue can even tell which side a smell comes from!
Try it together
Can you flick your tongue like a snake, buddy?
For grown-ups
Snakes flick their forked tongues to collect scent particles from the air and ground. When the tongue goes back in, it delivers those particles to a special sense organ in the roof of the mouth called the Jacobson's (vomeronasal) organ. The fork helps snakes tell which direction a smell is coming from.
Ask your child: Which smells help you guess what's for dinner?
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