Squashed by cars, slaughtered in their nests, Canada’s big snakes are under siege
Words and photos by Spencer Colby for Canada’s National Observer
MALLORYTOWN, ONTARIO, CANADA - Foldable antenna in hand, radio receiver and backpack slung over his shoulders, Mathieu Lecompte is prowling through Thousand Islands National Park in search of the elusive gray ratsnake. Reaching lengths of 2.5 metres, the gray ratsnake, with its whitish belly and head, is one of Canada’s largest.
The park in Mallorytown, Ont., is the only national park where the snake is found, said Lecompte, a Parks Canada resource management officer working on its resource conservation team. “It’s really an important part of the conservation program here.”
Lecompte’s work is part of Parks Canada’s “On the Road Again” project aimed at protecting snakes and turtles across western and central Ontario. By learning more about the gray ratsnake, the project hopes to develop better ways to protect it.
With the help of Parks Canada staff and a local veterinarian, Lecompte and his team implanted five adult gray ratsnakes with a radio-based tracking system, which emits a sound that grows louder as researchers carrying the receivers draw near.
“They spend their winter in what is called a hibernaculum, below the frost line, where large groups of gray ratsnakes hibernate together in groups, which are very important to preserve,” explained Lecompte. “The most important thing we’re looking at is locating their hibernation site.”
An Uncertain Future
Parks Canada classifies the gray ratsnake as a threatened species in the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence region. Its habitat is increasingly at risk from development and road network expansion, according to Parks Canada and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada’s (COSEWIC) Assessment and Status Report on the Gray Ratsnake.
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