Gartersnake.info

Saskatchewan Snake-Tosser Sentenced

2015-08-31T09:45:22Z

One of two men charged with tossing a garter snake in a Saskatoon Tim Hortons restaurant has been given a six-month conditional discharge. His co-accused failed to appear at a hearing and is wanted by police. The snake, a Plains Garter Snake dubbed Outlaw, was released into the wild. (CBC News, Global News)

Garter Snake Found in St. John's

2015-08-31T09:38:55Z

Garter snakes aren't native to Newfoundland and Labrador, though a population of them seems to be persisting on the southwest coast of Newfoundland (1, 2). Last month, though, a live garter snake was found in a St. John's suburb -- on the other side of the island. When wildlife officials went looking for it later, they found the snake dead.

Saskatchewan Snakes Released

2015-05-03T17:41:23Z

About 250 Plains Garter Snakes that were removed from a house near Regina, Saskatchewan last fall were finally released over the weekend (see also). The snakes had spent the winter at a wildlife rehabilitation centre.

Disturbed B.C. Garter Snakes Released at Den Site

2015-03-23T15:32:44Z

The garter snakes whose hibernation was disturbed last month by dike repair have been returned to the den site at Boundary Bay in Delta, British Columbia, where they'd normally be emerging from hibernation at about this time.

Garter Snake Hibernaculum Disturbed in B.C.

2015-02-28T15:33:29Z

Construction work on a dike in Delta, British Columbia has disturbed the hibernation site of hundreds of garter snakes, CBC News and Global News report. The snakes, which reportedly include Wandering, Puget Sound and Northwestern Garter Snakes (the news photos show mainly Western Terrestrials), have been taken to a wildlife rescue in nearby Burnaby, where they'll spend the winter in hibernation before being released in the spring.

Sask. Man Tosses Snake in Restaurant

2014-12-10T00:47:36Z

Saskatchewan again, for some reason. A man arguing with staff at a Tim Hortons in Saskatoon pulled a garter snake from a friend's coat and threw it behind the counter. The staff fled; the two men were apprehended and face charges; the snake, named "Outlaw" by police (and from the released photo looking very much like a Plains Garter Snake), will be released into the wild next spring.

The Evolution of Garter Snake Toxin Resistance

2014-11-18T11:58:02Z

New research into newt toxin resistance in garter snakes explores the DNA of the snakes' sodium channels: while western garter snakes have evolved TTX resistance in their muscle channels, all garter snakes, even eastern snakes who encounter newts far less toxic, have evolved resistance in their nerve channels, which suggests that those channels evolved first, and that garter snakes have been eating newts for a long time. Article.

Gartersnake.info has linked to a lot of previous research on garter snakes' resistance to newt toxins:

Snakes Swarm Saskatchewan

2014-11-10T22:07:46Z

That snakes turn up in people's basements at the onset of winter is a known thing, but a house near Regina, Saskatchewan has had a few more than usual. Last month it was reported that 102 Plains Garter Snakes had been removed from the home; those snakes were relocated to a nature preserve. Last week it was reported that another 119 snakes had since been removed the same house, and that may not be the last of them. A beekeeper has expressed interest in taking in the snakes; he wants them for pest control, which won't work for a number of reasons. Meanwhile, people near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan's other major city, are reporting an uptick in fall snake sightings.

Garter Snakes Threatened by Fire, Grazing in U.S. Southwest

2014-11-10T15:13:59Z

A couple of items on garter snakes at risk in the U.S. southwest. Last month, the Arizona Daily sun reported on the impact of serious wildfires in Arizona and New Mexico on the endangered Narrow-headed Garter Snake (AP story; see previous item).

And last week the Daily Sun reported on another lawsuit launched by the Center for Biological Diversity against the U.S. Forest Service, charging that the livestock grazing permits issued in national forests threaten both the Narrow-headed and Mexican Garter Snake. (See also Courthouse News Service.)

Giant Garter Receives 140 Acres in Mitigation

2014-11-10T00:43:54Z

Due to mitigation rules for endangered species, 140 acres of habitat, including 60 acres of new wetland, is being set aside in San Joaquin County, California, for the Giant Garter Snake, the Stockton, California Record reports. Those 60 acres will offset planned housing developments in Stockton, California.

Alaska Garter Snake Identified

2014-11-09T17:29:07Z

A road-killed garter snake found near Haines, Alaska in 2005 has been identified. In a brief note published in the Journal of Herpetology in 2011 (PDF), researches using mtDNA testing identified the snake as a Northwestern Garter Snake, Thamnophis ordinoides. How that snake made its way to Haines, about a thousand kilometres north of its known range, is a matter still to be determined: a previously undiscovered relict population, a natural range extension, and (most likely) an exotic snake either deliberately or accidentally transported and released (e.g., on a ferry) are all possibilities, the researchers say.

The Haines garter snake is literally the only Alaska snake on record: a previous vouchered specimen has since gone missing; other sightings along the Panhandle have not been documented. Via Life Is Short, But Snakes Are Long.

More on Toxin Resistance

2014-07-30T14:20:41Z

Andrew Durso's blog post is a fascinating look into the science behind the rapidly escalating arms race taking place on the Pacific coast of North America between toxic newts and the garter snakes who have been evolving toxin resistance to be able to feed on them.

Previously: The Cost of Evolving Toxin Resistance.

USFWS Lists Two Garter Snakes as Threatened

2014-07-08T13:15:50Z

The Northern Mexican Garter Snake (Thamnophis eques megalops) and the Narrow-headed Garter Snake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) will receive federal protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assigned the two species Threatened status in a final rule published today (PDF). This will take effect on August 7. See news coverage from the Arizona Daily Star. See the USFWS species profiles here: Northern Mexican Garter Snake, Narrow-headed Garter Snake.

The FWS issued a proposal to do this last year, after nearly a decade of lawsuits and reviews; the Service denied the Mexican garter protection in 2006. See this post for links explaining the story behind these species' listing.

Narcisse Snake Den Videos

2014-07-05T18:34:45Z

The garter snakes of the Narcisse Snake Dens may have dispersed for the summer, but you can still watch them online thanks to a couple of videos: one from National Geographic and one from Maclean's, both from the camera of Paul Colangelo.

Previously: A Visit to the Narcisse Snake Dens.

A Visit to the Narcisse Snake Dens

2014-05-22T11:09:30Z

On May 5, 2014, I visited the Narcisse Snake Dens. Located about a hundred kilometres north of Winnipeg, these dens are the hibernation site of tens of thousands of Red-sided Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis), the prairie subspecies of the Common Garter Snake. When they emerge each spring, they're something of a tourist attraction, one that gets featured in the Canadian media. I don't know how many government-supported tourist attractions there are in the world that are dedicated to snakes and snake conservation, but there can't be many, and this is one of them.

For anyone interested in garter snakes, or even snakes in general, the Narcisse Snake Dens are a must-visit. Every spring, the garter snakes emerge ready to mate. A single mating ball -- a large female surrounded by anything from several to dozens of male suitors -- is impressive enough, but when thousands are out and about in the same location ... well, you've never seen snakes so thick on the ground.

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