Reptiles at Risk

Species Profile: Black Rat Snake

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on July 25, 2009 at 4:59 PM

Here we are, back from our week in the Frontenac area – and what a week it was! We had a very busy schedule of 20 shows in 7 days, but met some great people and saw some amazing places. We unfortunately also had a bit of trouble finding internet access for updates – so let us apologize for our lack of blogging.

We started out from Orillia on Wednesday morning with the trailer in tow. We had a smooth (though long) ride into Lyndhurst, where we were greeted by an enthusiastic group – some of whom had actually seen Black Rat snakes! Black Rat snakes are the longest species of snake in all of Canada, but unfortunately can only be found in 2 areas in Ontario – one being the Frontenac Region. These snakes also have a special body shape that allows them to climb trees by wedging their muscles in between tree bark. One person even mentioned that they had watched one climb up to a nest to eat a small bird. Brittany, Eric and I had never seen them before in the wild, but after all we heard from these people we started imagining we might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one in our travels. They are a threatened species in the area, so they are not too easy to find, but we still had hope.

I am sad to say that our first sighting came only about an hour later, on our way to the second show of the week. At the side of the road we all saw our first Black Rat snake, already hit and killed by a car. It is incredibly unfortunate that tons of snakes and turtles get hit on roads every year, continuing to shrink their already small populations. It’s important that we keep watching for these animals as we travel, so that we can hopefully prevent some of these road deaths.

The only other place in Ontario where Black Rat snakes can be found is on the north shores of Lake Erie – where we will be heading next week! They are an endangered species in that area, and are in even more need of protection.

After this first, lighter day of shows we went into three days straight of four programs a day, from libraries to festivals to provincial parks. Our travels were somewhat exciting due to our lack of travel experience in the area, but we quickly learned how to navigate the nearby towns and how to find turn-around spots when we went the wrong way. Our navigation skills have hopefully greatly improved over the past week, which will make the rest of the summer that much easier!

More Frontenac stories to come soon . . .

Robin