Snakes on the Brain

“Um hun, I think you are going to want to change your shoes for this.” That wasn’t a good sign for a flip-flop loving girl just looking for a little excitement on a weekday. It is safe to say that I was a little out of my element a few weeks ago when I embarked on a wildlife expedition.

Due to the diverse group of friends I have made since I arrived, I once again found myself in the middle of the woods (ok, a nature preserve) on a mission. Our purpose – rattlesnake management. The idea was sprung on me merely a day in advance and without enough information to make an education decision, I agreed.

The outing started like this. The back door of a pick up truck swung open and I was invited to jump in. “Not a chance” I remarked as I noticed the white covered bucket labeled “venomous” strapped into the backseat. I slowly backed away and hitched a ride in a non-venomous vehicle.

We drove a few miles into what I lovingly describe as “the middle of nowhere” and we unloaded. We bug-sprayed from head to toe and I watched mesmerized as our leader dubbed “The Snake Girl” gathered her rattlesnake tracking paraphernalia.

Allow me to elaborate. The Snake Girl is a Herpetologist, working with the Savannah River Ecology Lab. There, she derived a research project working with rattlesnakes to determine how different rattlesnake species are affected by development and how these creatures react in our environment throughout the year. She captures rattlesnakes and takes them to a Veterinarian, where they undergo surgery to have transmitters implanted into their body cavities. Once these snakes have fully recovered from their ordeal, they are released back into the wild in the same spot they where captured. The Snake Girl then monitors these snakes for several years before, during, and after development and construction of particular areas.

Now back to the mission. The Snake Girl is now leading us through the woods. She carries a transmitter and large antennae in an effort to pick up the frequency of a recently released snake. We walk for about ten minutes (I was at the back of the pack) slowly following the beep, beep, beep. As the signal gets stronger we are warned that we are coming up on the rattlesnake and we should watch where we walk. (Feeling a little freaked out right about now.) Everyone stills and scans the ground. “Oh look, there he is,” comments the Snake Girl as if we’ve just stumbled upon a friend who we lost in the mall.

And sure enough coiled beneath a pile of leaves and twigs was our rattlesnake, I believe his name is Jay. It seems he has moved since the last spotting and the Snake Girl ties a marker around the closest tree and dates it. This is how she continues to track his movement.

Whew, it’s over. We are back at the trucks and then it hits me. We still have the issue of the venomous snake in the white bucket that has recently been implanted with a transmitter and needs to be released. Woo hoo!

So, we turned around and headed back into nowhere to find a good spot to release our venomous friend. We were told that there were two possible scenarios once the bucket was opened. In Scenario #1, the snake is a little agitated and will rattle something good, probably scaring the heck out of me. In Scenario #2, the snake high tails it (no pun intended) out of there and makes him self comfortable in his environment.

We were lucky to see a little of both. The lid came off, there was some definite rattling and then we watched this amazing creature move smoothly into the ground cover and back home. The Snake Girl marked the tree where he was released and she will continue to track him among his other friends.

This was such an interesting project to witness. And with all of the development taking place in the Lowcountry, it was refreshing to spend time with a group of wildlife experts who’s focus is on ensuring that humans and wildlife can continue to cohabitate.

Ah, just another day in the life of a converted Carolina girl.