June 14, 1990 - One Snake Saved Fro a ThrashingC14',The-SoffoIk, Time's'• June 14, 1990
One Snake Saved Fro a Thrashin
g
By Paul Stoutenburgh
I was pleased the other day when a
young mother called to ask about a
snake she'd found in her backyard. She
was keeping it in a large, plastic
garbage pail.
It was typical of the many calls I get
concerning snakes. Most want to know
what kind it is and all want to know if
it is poisonous or not. Why I particu-
larly pleased about this call was that the
young mother had kept the snake alive
and had no intention of killing it. This
is unusual, for many of my calls start
by: "I have a snake I just killed in my
backyard and want to know if you can
tell me what kind it is." Why many
people, including the most robust of
men, are petrified by snakes I don't
know.
We're told that every child who
comes into this world fears nothing but
perhaps the fear of falling, and that all
fears towards living creatures have been
taught by others directly or indirectly.
Perhaps it all started with the Judeo-
Christian tradition when man was ex-
pelled from the Garden of Eden by a ser-
pent. No matter when or who started it,
the wrath still hangs heavily over the
reptile family throughout the world.
Still there is hope and enlightenment,
as proven by the young mother stating
she did not want to do it harm but
wanted to know what kind of snake it
was.
On investigation I found it to be a
harmless 2 1/2 -foot, saddle - patterned,
chestnut - colored milk snake. Because of
its color and pattern many have thought
Focus on
Nature
it to be the poisonous copperhead, but
we have no poisonous snakes here on
Long Island. Repeat: We have no poi-
sonous snakes here on Long Island.
Rattlesnakes Were Here
At one time, according to colonial
records, rattlesnakes were common
along much of the North Shore, particu-
larly along the high, rocky bluffs. But
then through the ages of fire, clearing
and agriculture there hasn't been a record
of a rattler for well over half a century.
Remember, snakes will not go out of
their way to bite you. But corner them
and prevent their means of escape and
even the common garter snake will at-
tempt to defend itself.
The name milk snake comes from the
old superstition that these harmless
snakes took milk from cows, a pretty
ridiculous idea when you think about it.
Probably since they were found com-
monly around barns someone had to be
blamed for an occasional lack of milk
from one of the farmer's cows, so the
snake became the logical suspect. The
reason for the snake being around the
building was that his usual diet of mice
and rats was plentiful there. These he
kills by constriction, a concept
probably more humane in many eyes,
for it merely prevents the victim from
breathing and therefore it suffocates.
I think one of the things that fright-
ens many people when they see a snake
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.,wnm «aa MICR UNAKE —utten this snake is mistaken for the poi-
sonous copperhead and killed. It's
most useful to man, since it lives
mainly on mice and small rats. It should
be remembered we have no
poisonous snakes on Long Island.
is the forked tongue that is sensing the
take on a milky appearance. Those who
air or, as some say, "sipping it." Actu-
have been outdoors a lot have probably
ally what it is doing is analyzing the
come across these shed skins. They
chemical makeup of the air or ground
look like some old brownish - colored
before it. It feeds this information
cellophane with the exact markings of
through a special gland that tells it what
the host outlined on them.
is out there. The snake then can track
A curious characteristic of the crested
its prey if hunting, sample food if ready
flycatcher is its habit of finding an old,
to eat, and even with this part- taste,
discarded skin and using it in its nest-
part- smell technique, can locate a mate.
building. Why the bird uses the skin is
Like most of our common snakes,
the milk snake lays its eggs — from
pure speculation, one theory being that
one to a dozen — during June or July.
it deters other birds from coming near
the nest. Then there's the other, less
One of the interesting things about their
eggs is that they are much more oblong
imaginative theory that is is used just
than what we usually think of as a
as a good piece of building material, but
typical egg shape. The shell is leathery
I like the first theory.
and actually gets bigger as the young
Snakes are an integral art of our nat-
develop inside. As with turtles, the eggs
ural world and as man continues to take
are laid in the ground, being warmed
over the planet with his homes, his
either by the sun or decaying matter or
businesses, his agriculture and, the
both, which in turn incubates them.
most deadly, his roads, snakes of all
Hatching takes place around September.
types will become more and more
As the snake grows it sheds its skin
scarce-
two or three times a year. This is ac-
Let's hope there will always be peo-
complished by rubbing itself against a
ple like the young mother who care
rough surface, usually a stone or some
about living things and that there will
brush, and then starting at the lips the
always be woods and fields where these
skin is worked off in one piece, includ-
once - familiar creatures can be found.
ing a covering that goes right over the
They, like us, are only a small part of
eyes. One can usually tell when a snake
that magical cycle of life that makes up
is going to shed, for the skin becomes
our planet, the only livable one in the
very dull and lifeless and often the eyes
universe.
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