The snake's primordial system, functioning for well over one hundred million years, is a marvel of genetic engineering. The snake smells with its tongue, hears with its flesh, and propels itself by a locomotion of rippling muscles. It sheds its skin, has a detachable tail, and mimics death if afraid. Snake explores the animal's natural history, and the widespread snake symbolism, from Eve's serpent in the Bible, to Kaa in The Jungle Book; from the Chinese zodiac to Indian snake charmers and the Hollywood film Anaconda.