City’s soggy weather leads to reign of the garter snake
Edmonton’s wet weather is creating the perfect conditions for the city’s snake population to flourish, says a local reptile expert.
Last month, the area had roughly 121 millimetres of rain, far above the average 93.8 mm.
May and June saw similar high volumes of rainfall at 92 mm and 105 mm, respectively.
Peter Daly, a biological technologist with the City of Edmonton, said frogs, slugs and worms all love wet environments, which in turn means more items on the menu for garter snakes.
“We don’t track (snake populations) specifically but considering that it has been such a wet year and relatively hot at the same time that’s great conditions for snakes and their choice prey,” he said.
“It means snakes have a lot to feed on and with it being hot, it means they have the opportunity to be more active and range a little farther (since they are) cold-blooded.”
Daly, also the president of the Edmonton Reptile and Amphibian Society, said Alberta, in general, has about six to seven species of snakes, with the most common in the Edmonton area being the western red-sided garter snake.
The small reptile, which can grow to more than one metre in length, is distinguished by its red-sided markings and dark green colouring.
The garter snake isn’t harmful to humans but they do bite.
Daly said a bite from this kind of snake feels like Velcro or grabbing a thistle. And while garter snakes technically have venom, he said the amount isn’t dangerous to humans, only fish and frogs.
In addition to the red-sided garter snake, Alberta has two other species — the plains garter snake and the wandering garter snake, the largest of the three.
Daly said the garter snake is usually found near water, including the city’s river valley, and they are excellent swimmers.
He said it can be hard to distinguish how big the population is in the city but his rough estimate is it’s in the thousands.
“They’re pretty secretive,” he said.
“It’s hard to say exactly how many but you can do reasonably accurate surveys at an individual hibernaculum. If you have the time to count the snakes coming in and out.”
The province’s largest snake is the bull snake, which can grow between 900 mm and 2,000 mm, while the most venomous is the prairie rattlesnake.
According to Alberta Parks, the rattlesnake’s bite is rarely fatal to humans.
Daly notes sometimes during hibernation, garter snakes will lie beside rattlesnakes in the same den for warmth.
“Rattlesnakes are quite happy to use the same hibernaculum,” he said. “They just use the same space, so the more the merrier. The rattlesnake doesn’t eat other snakes typically. So that works out just fine.”
Daly said snakes generally start to hibernate in mid-september, however, it depends on the weather.