Snakes are unable to sniff the air through their noses quickly enough to follow the scent of their prey. To do that, they depend on a special organ called Jacobson’s organ located deep inside the upper surface of mouth, which detects odours. By flicking the forked tongue in and out rapidly, the snake picks up odours and puts it on to the Jacobson’s organ. The amount of odour picked up by each tip of the forked tongue also provides information about the direction of the prey.
