Most of you all have probably been strolling along a trail and seen a long dark thing slither across the path out of the corner of your eye. You look around really quick and discover you've happened upon a Garter snake! Depending on who you are, you either jump away in terror, keep on walking, or you're like me and you pick it up...and get peed on.
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| A little warning to go away before I picked it up. |
Some people would proceed to be a little put off and go ahead and abide the snakes musky request to put it down. No sir, not when you find your hands of a curious environmental science major that wants to learn more. I continued to hold it and after a couple minutes of the snake trying to get away and lots of erratic movement it became more comfortable with me holding it and coiled still in my hand. I waited a little bit longer and set it back on the ground to see if I could observe any other behaviors but it just sat still sticking its bright red tongue out at me. I even tried jumping at it and running towards it but still no movement. Also, yes I looked like a crazy person to any possible observer. I came to the conclusion that apparently I am a snake charmer...which would be sweet, but not conducive to an informative blog post. So! On to the next snake, only I didn't find one for the rest of the day out around Lake Louise.
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| Sneaky little fella |
About a week later I was hiking up the Oyster Dome trail and holy smokes I hit the jackpot. Much to my not-so-outdoorsy friend Maggie's dismay, the snakes were everywhere! I decided against picking them up this time and found some interesting things. I found them most often right on the trails (it was a sunny day). However, as soon as they detected us coming up they slithered into the vegetation for cover. Most of the time they would stop as soon as they got under cover to see if we would continue to pester them and they would only to continue to slither away if I tried to pick it up. Then I came upon a slightly more bold individual who held its ground and coiled up much like the style of the iconic rattlesnake don't-get-near-me position. Just for fun, I decided that I would try to get bitten. It seemed safe enough and I wanted to know what it felt like! So i moved close to it very slowly and started poking my hand around its head space. I suspect I finally annoyed it enough when it launched towards me and bit my thumb. It was not painful, a little alarming voluntarily getting bitten by a snake, yes, but no teeth and no harm done. There was a little saliva left on my hand once I gave the snake a little shake off.
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| Photo by: Matt Smokoska, Creative Commons |
Enough stories of me messing with wildlife, I did some research on these interesting creatures too.
Common Garter snakes are variable in color, not all are the most frequently seen brownish color with yellow stripes. There tongues are bright red and tipped in black, check it out to the right. They stick out their vibrant tongues to collect chemicals given off by other snakes in the air, then they insert their tongue into a special organ on the roof of their mouth to interpret these chemical pheromones. This is one of their main forms of communication along with smell, touch, and sight.
They prefer moist grassy environments with lots of vegetation for cover and protection but like bare areas for basking in the sun since they're cold blooded. They are most active in the late afternoon and in the mornings.
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| Photo by: Jess Tome, Flickr |
Every year that time comes when the pheromones go flying out of the males to let the ladies know it's that time. Male Garter snakes are promiscuous reproducers and take multiple female mates. Females only mate with one male and if they do not find one that suits their fancy, will often not mate at all. Sometimes males will give off pheromones resembling that of a females to lead other males away from a den where they have or are looking to mate, tricky little guys. They typically eat earthworms, amphibians, slugs, snails, insects, small fish, and other snakes. Ever wonder why so many people mistakenly call them gardener snakes? Because they are a friend to gardeners by keeping all the pests away! These little garden helpers are often grouped into the group of creepy crawlies people want to stay away from. Next time you see one just say hello to the curious little guy! They are helping the world from being overrun with slugs!
Sources:
Zimmerman, R. 2013. "Thamnophis sirtalis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed June 03, 2015 at http://www.biokids.umich.edu/accounts/Thamnophis_sirtalis/
Hallock, L.A. and McAllister, K.R. 2009. Common Garter Snake. Washington Herp Atlas. http://www1.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/herp/
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