What would happen if snakes disappeared like in Zootopia 2? An investigation

"Gary's story is quite a change of pace from the usual villainous role of snakes in Hollywood (see The Jungle Book, the Harry Potter franchise, Snakes on a Plane, Anaconda) and the perception of them in human societies more broadly (see the Book of Genesis). But from a scientific standpoint, there are extremely good reasons to keep snakes around: they're a critical piece of the ecosystem."

"Snakes are mesopredators, which means that they eat small rodents, such as squirrels and mice, but are also themselves eaten by other predators, such as hawks, owls, badgers and coyotes. If snakes were somehow excluded from the animal world, as they were from society in Zootopia 2, that would almost certainly have disastrous consequences."

Zootopia 2 centers on Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde investigating the mystery of Gary De'Snake, a pit viper whose family was driven from the city. The film challenges the typical villainous portrayal of snakes in Hollywood and popular culture by presenting them as misunderstood rather than dangerous. Gary argues that snakes have never hurt anyone and deserve acceptance in society. Beyond the narrative, snakes play a vital ecological role as mesopredators, consuming small rodents like mice and squirrels while serving as prey for larger predators such as hawks, owls, badgers, and coyotes. Their absence would disrupt ecosystems with serious consequences.

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