Snakes aren’t the only feared, reviled, and misunderstood animals. Wolves have their antagonists too. Recently, we visited our good friend Dr. Sue Ware in Gardiner, Montana, where she spent a week at the Heritage & Research Center examining wolf skulls.
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What Good are Snakes?
“The best use for a snake is to make belts and boots!” That sentiment closely follows, “The only good snake is a dead snake!” Despite the fear and animosity toward them, snakes have a place and a purpose in the natural world.
Why People Fear Snakes
While walking at Cherry Creek State Park near Denver, Colorado, Chuck saw a man in the distance striking toward the ground with a stick. “He’s trying to kill a snake.” We hurried forward.
Snake FAQs
How do you tell a male from a female snake?
To determine sex, snakes are usually probed with a metal instrument in their cloacal opening (the opening at the base of their tail from which eggs are laid, where the snake defecates, and where copulation occurs). This is a difficult procedure and should only be done by experienced, well-trained herpetologists.
So, Where Do You Live?
When a tourist at the Jackson, Wyoming, Visitor Center asked what we did there as volunteers, we replied that we were naturalists for the National Elk Refuge. “So, where do you live?” he asked.
We pointed across the mile and a third expanse of the Refuge flatland that lay before us. “We live in one of those trailers you can barely see from here.”
Full-time RVers at Last
After leaving Imperial National Wildlife Refuge where we volunteered for over four months during winter 2005-6, we returned to the Denver area. We could have stored the fifth wheel and reverted to living in our house. Instead, still in our “experimental” mode, we parked at Cherry Creek State Park, three miles from our house, to test our resolve to this mobile lifestyle.
Bullsnakes vs Rattlesnakes
Confused about the differences in bullsnakes and rattlesnakes? Bryon Shipley, Denver Zoo keeper and rattlesnake researcher at the Plains Conservation Center in Aurora, Colorado, can help clear up some myths and misconceptions about these two snakes. Read his comments below: