A New Day for Snakes

I love happy endings.

Last year a friend had a neighbor who killed a snake in their yard and then asked what kind it was. Snake - Victim of Ignorance

The poor gopher snake was just trying to eat the abundant rodents around the people's orchard property. My friend and I tried a little education about local snakes and hoped for the best.

This year another gopher snake has made an appearance on the neighbor's property, but this time they took a photo FIRST. Yes, it is another gopher snake. It is a little plump which supports the evidence that an abundance of rodents are available on their property.

This gopher snake is not a threat to the people or their medium-sized dog. In fact the dog is a threat to the snake. The gopher snake is a valuable ally. It will do its best to eat the rats and gophers around their rural orchard and its efficient hunting will help to keep rattlesnakes away.

We hope that they will decide to let the snake do its work on their property. But even if they do decide to relocate it, this gopher snake survived. A little education can make a world of difference for wild creatures. Once you know an animal is not a threat, you can stop and think rationally about what to do about its presence. Most snakes are completely beneficial, don't condemn them because of human ignorance and cultural myth.