In New Zealand, snakes are illegal. The real reason there are no snakes in ireland New zealand snakes
Konevets can be called one of the most famous islands in the west of Lake Ladoga. Despite the fact that you can only get to it from May 15 to October 15, thousands of people visit it in six months. Pilgrims strive to get to the monastery, founded by the Reverend Arseny Konevsky, tourists come on excursions to learn interesting pages from history, walk along forest paths and relax on the sandy beaches of the island.
It is believed that staying on the island of Konevets is possible only with the permission of the Pilgrimage Service of the monastery, or with the personal blessing of the abbot. However, on the island you can meet tourists who sailed here on private boats and hardly asked permission. However, all visitors are required to follow the rules for staying in an Orthodox monastery. If they do not comply with these rules, they may be asked to leave the territory.
SPB.AIF.RU recalled the legends associated with the island, as well as real facts from the history of the monastery, which can be called miraculous.
The icon has chosen a place
The history of the island is inextricably linked with the name of the Reverend Arseny Konevsky, whose worldly name, as well as the exact date of his birth, have not survived to this day. It is known about him that in 1379 he took monastic vows. A native of Veliky Novgorod lived on Mount Athos for several years, and when he decided to return to his homeland, the hegumen blessed him and gave him the Akathist icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, which later became known as the icon of the Mother of God of Konevskaya.
In search of a place for a new monastery, Arseny sets off on a journey along Lake Ladoga. A strong storm forced him to moor to the island of Konevets. After waiting for the bad weather, Arseny got back into the boat and set sail. But, either the capricious nature of Ladoga, or providence made itself felt: a strong wind again forced the monk to moor to the shore. The monk took this as a sign from above and decided that "by the will of the Lord and His Most Pure Mother, the monastery should be erected on Konevets."
At the end of the 14th century, students began to sail to Arseny on the island: a monastic brethren began to be created, which built the first stone church in the name of the Nativity of the Virgin on the shore of the bay. However, a severe flood in 1421 proved that the place for construction was not the most reliable. Arseny decided to move the temple to a higher place. A new temple was built there, in which the main shrine of the monastery is located - the icon of the Mother of God of Konevskaya.
An island without snakes
One of the most mysterious sights of the island is the Horse-Stone. A huge boulder, resembling the head of a horse, according to legend, was a place where pagans made sacrifices. One fisherman told about the bloody customs to the Monk Arseny. The monk was struck by this story and he decided to cleanse the boulder from wickedness. Taking the Svyatogorsk icon of the Mother of God, he came to the stone and performed a prayer service with it, sprinkling the Horse-stone with holy water.
The legend says that evil spirits flew out of the cracks in the stone, turned into black birds and flew away to the Vyborg coast, which later became known as "devil" - Sortanlakhta.
Together with the evil spirits, all the snakes left the island.
Notable guests
The island has been visited by many famous people at different times. In 1858 Emperor Alexander II came to Konevets. In honor of this event, a memorial sign made of Putilov stone was erected.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Finland gained independence, and Konevets became part of the young state. In the 1930s, excursions were organized to the monastery. One of the most famous "tourists" was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Finland, Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim. It is known that during his trip to the island he met and talked with Abbot Mauritius, who before coming to the monastery was a liaison at Mannerheim's headquarters.
Prayers saved from bombing
Another wonderful story is connected with the Winter War. During the entire period of hostilities, not a single monk of the Konevsky Monastery was injured. During heavy bombardments, everyone gathered in the temple for prayer and asked for the intercession of the Monk Arseny. Miraculously, shells bypassed the monastery. Only the gardener's house near the Holy Mountain burned down. None of the monks were even injured.
On March 13, the Winter War ended. According to the peace treaty, the Karelian Isthmus and part of the territory of Finland to the north of Lake Ladoga, including Lake Ladoga itself and the islands of Konevets and Valaam, departed from the Soviet Union.
By order of the military authorities, the monastic brethren (31 people) left the island, having served a prayer service in the church in front of the Konevskaya Icon of the Mother of God. After the departure of the monks, another life began on the island.
Test site for chemical weapons
For almost 50 years, the island was a closed zone: civilian ships could not be in the water area, the shores were fenced with barbed wire. The reason for this was that after the Great Patriotic War, a naval base was located on Konevets.
The monastery fell into disrepair during these years. Families of officers settled in the former cells, a warehouse was located in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin, and a car park appeared on the site of the brotherly monastery cemetery, and then a sports ground.
In the 50s and 60s, samples of Soviet chemical weapons were tested on the island, and solid-fuel rockets were also tested. By the 1980s, testing at the test site was almost completed, but the test site is still considered to be operational.
According to the New Zealand Department of Extractive Industries, which is responsible, among other things, for environmental safety, there is not a single terrestrial snake in this country. And the authorities want to keep this state of affairs, so snakes are outlawed.
It's not only illegal to keep or breed land snakes: even if you just saw a snake and didn't report it to the authorities, you face a fine. There are no snakes in zoos or in research laboratories. However, at least 2 species of sea snakes are found near the coast of New Zealand, but they are not considered, as they spend their entire lives in the water.
Apart from New Zealand, snakes are not found in Greenland, Antarctica and some of the Hawaiian Islands.
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Snakes are reptiles that live on every continent, with the exception of ice-clad Antarctica, where cold-blooded creatures simply cannot survive. Ireland is an island, and there is not a single snake here, despite the fact that in the UK, on an island located literally next door, they are found. The distance between them is about 80 km, they have very similar flora and fauna, climatic conditions. In any case, an inquisitive person will wonder why snakes are found and were found on one island for thousands of years, and on the other they have never been in the entire history of mankind.
If you think about it, consider the geological past of the planet, it will not be difficult to answer the question. The answer can be found when considering the ice ages of the planet.
Ice Ages and Reptile Settlement
Reptiles, as cold-blooded creatures, are attached to warmth, to the opportunity to warm themselves at least for a short summer, otherwise they cannot be mobile, they cannot exist. Ice ages occur periodically, the exact interval has not been clarified by scientists, however, geological surveys allow us to make some assumptions. Every few million years, the climate on the planet becomes colder, the polar ice caps move south, covering larger areas, and then, with warming, recede.
The last time the ice shells grew was about 110,000 years ago, and about 10,000 years ago they began to recede, liberating Britain in particular. Since the lands in the north of Europe and the nearby islands again became fertile, the migration of people and animals to these spaces began. While the water level was low due to the fact that not all the ice had melted, and part of the water of the World Ocean was contained in glaciers, excellent conditions were created for the settlement of living beings. They easily entered the territories, which, when the water level rose, became islands, along land bridges.
The bridge between the future island of Great Britain and Ireland was the first to be flooded, during this period there were still many glaciers that prevented the normal life of snakes. Britain, on the other hand, was connected with the mainland for about 2 thousand more years, during which time the climate managed to become even milder, snakes were able to move to the island from the mainland before the formation of the English Channel. But they could not get to Ireland, it was already separated by ocean waters.
The legend of snakes and St. Patrick
In addition to the scientific explanation, there is also a legend that tells how St. Patrick drove the snakes out of the island. The Christian legend tells that the saint gathered snakes on Mount Crow, ordering them to throw themselves into the waters. But the oldest, cunning snake did not listen to him. Then Patrick argued with him that he could not fit in the chest because of his size. Proving the opposite, the serpent climbed into the chest, where the saint closed it, and then also threw it into the water.
Interesting fact: Ireland is not the only island without snakes. They are not on many other islands, even large ones - in Greenland, Hawaii, New Zealand. They cannot swim long distances, except for sea snakes, which remain mainly in the water element.
Is it possible to bring snakes to places where they do not exist?
The modern climate of Ireland creates all the conditions for the habitat of reptiles, and in particular, snakes. But they exist only within private collections, in zoos, terrariums. The fact is that it is extremely fraught to bring new species to where they were not originally there, to release them into the open environment of an established ecosystem. They can cause serious damage by changing the balance of already established food chains, destroying native species, exterminating them for food, or depriving natural prey, occupying places suitable for life, breeding.
An animal species that is accidentally or intentionally introduced into established ecosystems is called invasive. Once in the ecosystem of the island, where birds are used to nesting freely, the snake is able to exterminate the chicks, attack them until they are completely destroyed. In such conditions, the number of snakes will increase grossly, due to the availability of food and the absence of natural enemies.
In addition, snakes can exterminate rodents and other small animals, which are usually located at the base of the food chain, serving as food for local medium-sized predators. This situation will create a threat of extinction for endemic island species and will affect people's lives. That is why it is unacceptable.
Thus, snakes do not live in Ireland because they simply could not get there. This island separated from the mainland during the early melting of ice masses that arose during global cooling earlier. When the island was connected to the mainland, it was still too cold for snakes. Later, they could not get there because of the water barrier. The modern climate of the island allows snakes to settle, live in these territories, but this is dangerous for already established ecosystems.
An old Irish legend says that when Saint Patrick christened the country, he drove all the snakes from the Emerald Peninsula. First, the reptiles were gathered on the top of Crow Mountain, and then in the name of the Lord they were ordered to throw themselves into the sea. Historians believe that the patron saint of Ireland did a lot for the country, but the expulsion of snakes cannot be attributed to his merits. The truth is that there have never been creeping reptiles on this island nation.
Archaeological data
Let's start with historical and archaeological data. Ireland is a northern island nation. Not a single archaeological excavation in the country has been able to find any signs of snake fossils. Historians believe that for a long time, even before the islands broke away from the land, a cold climate prevailed here and there was a kingdom of ice. Thus, reptiles were in no hurry to occupy the territory of modern Ireland. And after the warming happened, the British Isles became independent objects. Only now the snakes living in Europe on land could not reach the northern latitudes. Before them appeared an impressive obstacle in the form of melted glaciers, leveled with sea water.
Animal migration
After the last ice age, the migration of animals from Europe began. This was about 10,000 years ago. Then the lands of Ireland and England did not acquire their modern shape, but they gradually dumped annoying glaciers into the sea. First of all, large mammals began to develop new territories: wild boars, bears and lynxes. It is believed that Ireland and England were divided between themselves more than 8,500 years ago. The British Isles completely separated from Europe 6,500 years ago. And this means that the snakes had two thousand years to have time to penetrate the territory of modern Britain. And so it happened, at present, snakes, copperheads and vipers live in Foggy Albion. 
Other places where there are no snakes
In addition to Ireland, there are other island states and regions of large countries on Earth where there are no snakes. For example, there are no snakes in Greenland, New Zealand, Hawaii, Antarctica, parts of Canada and northern Russia. It turns out that Saint Patrick was too busy exorcising evil spirits. Well, if apart from jokes, snakes deserved contempt among Irish Christians. People here have a pathological fear of reptiles and still blame them for the expulsion of Eve from paradise.
The former patron was depicted in the form of a snake
It is also known that the Celtic god of fertility was depicted as a reptile. His name was Sernunnos, and it was he who was worshiped by the locals before the reign of Christianity on the island. It is believed that the legend of the expulsion of snakes came from here. Saint Patrick replaced his predecessor and got rid of the reminder. However, we already know the truth, and it is confirmed by scientists Nigel Monaghan, curator of natural history at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, and Mark Ryan, an expert at the Center for Health Sciences at Louisiana State University. 
The only exception
Snakes are found on all continents of the Earth except Antarctica, so their complete absence on the island of Ireland seems strange. What is the reason for ignoring the reptiles of this region?
First, Ireland is an island separated from Great Britain by a strait 80 kilometers wide. Such a distance for snakes living on land cannot be overcome. But why then do snakes live in Great Britain, which is also an island and is separated from the mainland by a fairly wide English Channel?
The reason for such a strange resettlement of snakes should be sought in the geological history of our planet. Throughout its existence, the Earth goes through ice ages - repeated stages lasting several million years, when, due to a sharp cooling of the climate, a significant increase in ice sheets occurs. The last ice age (an integral part of the ice age) began on the planet about 110,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago. Most of northern Europe, bound by permafrost, was finally freed from the ice that covered the British Isles.
Primitive tribes and animals began to migrate to the islands. But not all creatures could penetrate deep into the islands, where the cold climate continued to persist. Among them were snakes, which at first settled only in the south of Great Britain. The remaining glaciers continued to melt, gradually flooding the land road between Ireland and the UK. Thus was formed the North Strait between the two islands. Great Britain, however, remained connected with the mainland for another 2,000 years, until it became cut off from it by the strait that we call the English Channel.
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It turns out that the snakes simply did not have enough time to populate Ireland, which at that time was still too cold for them for most reptiles. The snakes still managed to populate Great Britain, gradually moving deeper into the island along with climate warming.
For those who are not satisfied with the scientific explanation for the absence of snakes in Ireland, there is a beautiful legend. It tells that the island was saved from snakes by the Christian discoverer Saint Patrick, who gathered all the reptiles on Mount Crow and ordered them to jump into the water. Only one old kite disobeyed and remained on the mountain. Then Patrick had to resort to cunning and argue with the snake that he would not be able to fit into a nearby wooden chest. The snake, wanting to prove Patrick wrong, climbed into the box, which the man immediately closed and threw into the sea. So Saint Patrick rid Ireland of snakes.
Be that as it may, in fact, the absence of snakes is typical not only for Ireland, but also for such large islands as New Zealand, Hawaii, Iceland and Greenland. But this is not always beneficial for the territory. A snake accidentally released into the wild (such as a snake that escaped from a zoo or pet store) can become an invasive species and cause irreparable damage to the environment by wiping out native species. Such a picture is observed on the island of Guam, where snakes were absent until recently. But the brown boiga accidentally introduced into the ecosystem, able to climb trees perfectly, multiplied and became a real disaster for local birds, almost completely exterminating the population of birds.