Eight years later, the snake is still with us, living out its rather luxurious life along with a few other snakes in the house. Rehoming didn't make much sense - the story is too wild.
Friday, July 11, 2025
Slightly Off-Topic: Milksnake in the Alley
Eight years later, the snake is still with us, living out its rather luxurious life along with a few other snakes in the house. Rehoming didn't make much sense - the story is too wild.
Sunday, June 29, 2025
The Clayoquot Sound: Thamnophis in the Mist
As I sit here to begin drafting my summary of a trip to Vancouver Island (British Columbia) less than 20 hours after returning, it is a steady ninety degrees outside here in northwestern DuPage County. That's about forty degrees warmer than what was experienced as we hunkered down along the southern periphery of the Clayoquot Sound near Tofino over the previous week. So as I re-adjust to changing conditions, I'll try my best to accurately recall the feelings and emotions that I felt as we traveled throughout this amazing place.
Long ago, I became fascinated by the island's rugged beauty and indigenous roots. It's not really on a lot of people's "must-see" lists, but it's been on mine for some time. Naturally, it's a place of boreal landscapes, picturesque river valleys and biodiverse coastal waters. It is depauperate in herpetofauna, but the species that do make their homes there have found ways to tough out the region's unforgiving climate. In particular, the island's four snake species - three garters and one sharp-tailed snake - have proven to impress with their abilities to not only survive but thrive in the cool and often cloudy and windy environment.
I really wanted to find a northwestern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) while there. I had never seen one in the wild and its subtle beauty usually stops me in my tracks. Yes - I also like the gaudy paintjobs of other western garters, but I'm weird in that I REALLY like snakes that most others consider ugly or drab. It's unrelated to my support for the underdogs. It's that I can stare at a brown or gray snake for a long time and admire it for what it is, never once considering it "dull".
This was a family vacation, so most of my herping would be incidental. And that was fine by me, since the forests were captivating and the indigenous influence is alive and strong. Three groups of First Nations people live throughout the sound. Near Tofino, it is the Tla-o-qui-aht people, who have been in the region for thousands of years. Many operate businesses in Tofino, such as tour companies (foreshadowing). I learned much about the history of the Tla-o-qui-aht and viewed everything through the lens of a visitor from afar privileged to even step foot here.
We flew into Victoria from Seattle and drove nearly five hours to our cabin near Tofino. The only reasonable way to do this is by taking the Alberni Highway (BC-4), which provides stunning views of the mountains and rivers. We stopped at the Kennedy River Rest Stop to take in the views of the crystal clear, sparkling clean & frigid waters of the river. We also found our first of many salmonberry plants here. These attractive berries are abundant and variable in taste; they range from remarkably delicious to worthy of spitting out, regardless of ripeness. So eating these was always an adventure.

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Back in Tofino, we returned to the same park I found the sirtalis in the day before. Yes, I was hungry.
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Illinois Swamp Rattlers, revisited
Some of the most frequent questions I'm asked, in regard to Illinois herpetology, relate to the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus). Where are they found? And how are they doing?
Where are they found? The massasauga has been almost completely wiped out of the state, and today is known from a handful of tiny fragments of habitat in one county. Is it possible they still exist elsewhere? Yes. Illinois is a large state with lots of tiny patches of wet prairie or meadows. Some of the more recently known populations (that haven't been sighted in years) occurred in short stretches of roadside ditches in the central part of the state. Certainly there are other ditches like that elsewhere. But without thoughtful management, those ditches go bad quickly. They fill in with invasive brush, or they are mowed too frequently or too short (or both). Patches of wet prairie left to remain uncultivated on private property may harbor massasaugas, but since the little rattlers are federally protected, most landowners wouldn't speak a word about snakes they may have seen for fear of what they may consider government overreach. So, at this moment in time, we only know of the precious few that garner attention from both hopeful conservationists and bitter developers.
How are they doing? Well, they are not doing well in Illinois, which may be good news or bad news depending on who's asking. However, they may not be doing as bad as we thought in previous years. Recent studies suggest that the remaining animals may not suffer from ill effects a lack of genetic diversity often causes. Some herpetologists feared that may might be a serious issue. Snake fungal disease, while prevalent among these remaining animals, appears to present itself mildly (so far). While good news, it doesn't change the fact that the metapopulation is highly fragmented and the sites are small; the remaining animals are vulnerable to environmental stochasticity and catastrophic events, either manmade or natural.