Snakes Need YOUR Help!

Snakes play a vital role in various ecosystems, but many Ontario snake species are at risk. Three of these species include the threatened hog-nosed snake, the threatened and endangered gray ratsnake, and the endangered queensnake. Numerous anthropogenic threats are putting these species at risk, including habitat loss and degradation, habitat fragmentation and road mortality from roads, and climate change. All of these threats lead to small population sizes, which are very vulnerable to extinction. While these threats are common anthropogenic stressors to all biodiversity, snakes are also uniquely under threat from persecution. We hope that this blog has helped to extinguish any fear you may have had of Ontario snakes, and that you now realize these species are quite harmless. We ask you to share this information with your friends and family, so that we can eradicate the misconception that snakes are dangerous and in turn prevent the eradication of Ontario snake species. We also challenge you to take on our suggested snake friendly behaviours, particularly braking for snakes and being cautious of snakes on roadways. Keep in mind that these small actions are vital for the conservation of snakes in Ontario.