The mouths of rivers are great places to meet serpents. It’s a perfect mix of water to swim in and estuary to wade in and land to slither on, and they gather there to feed on eels or salmon or the gatherings of waterfowl. But a question that is often asked about the serpents is: why do they do the back wiggle thing? Why do they make humps in the water? Surely it’s uncomfortable?

In short, they do it to appear bigger. It spreads their fins and spines to look more spreading, and they raise as much of their body out of the water as possible. It’s not always an aggressive gesture. Sometimes they do it to sunbathe, or as a long-distance greeting, or as a friendly precaution when strangers approach. They just want you to see how big and strong they are, even if they don’t mean to hurt you.

If you would like to make a serpent laugh, flex back at it. They find it very funny, no matter how muscular you are.