Walking stick

A walking stick is a device used by many people to facilitate walking, for fashion, or for defensive reasons.

Walking sticks come in many shapes and sizes, and can be sought by collectors. Some kinds of walking stick may be used by people with disabilities as a crutch. The walking stick has also historically been known to be used as a defensive or offensive weapon, and may conceal a knife or sword as in a swordstick.

Walking sticks, also known as trekking poles, pilgrim's staffs, hiking poles or hiking sticks, are used by hikers for a wide variety of purposes: to clear spider webs, or part thick bushes or grass obscuring the trail; as a support when going uphill or a brake when going downhill; as a balance point when crossing streams, swamps or other rough terrain; to feel for obstacles in the path; to test mud and puddles for depth; and as a defence against wild animals. Also known as an alpenstock, from its origins in mountaineering in the Alps, such a walking stick is equipped with a steel point and a hook or pick on top, as famously used by Sherlock Holmes in his trek in "The Final Problem". A walking stick can be improvised from nearby felled wood. More ornate sticks are made for avid hikers, and are often adorned with small trinkets or medallions depicting "conquered" territory. Wood walking sticks are used for outdoor sports, healthy upper body exercise and even club, department and family memorials. They can be individually handcrafted from a number of woods, and may be personalised in many ways for the owner.

Kingsnake

Kingsnakes are colubrid snakes, members of the genus Lampropeltis, which include milk snakes and four other species. Among these, there are approximately 45 recognized subspecies.

Etymology

Lampropeltis means "shiny shield" (from Greek λαμπρος, "shine" + πελτα, "small shield"), a name given to them in reference to their smooth dorsal scales.

Behavior and diet

Kingsnakes use constriction to kill their prey and tend to be opportunistic when it comes to their diet; they will eat other snakes (ophiophagy), including venomous snakes. Kingsnakes will also eat lizards, rodents, birds, and eggs. The common kingsnake is known to be immune to the venom of other snakes and to eat rattlesnakes, but it is not necessarily immune to the venom of snakes from different localities.

The "king" in the name (as with the king cobra) references its eating of other snakes.

Description

The majority of kingsnakes have quite vibrant patterns on their skins. Some species of kingsnake, such as the scarlet kingsnake, Mexican milk snake, and red milk snake, have coloration and patterning that can cause them to be confused with the highly venomous coral snakes.