EarthTalk – Are snakes declining? What can we do?

Title card for the EarthTalk environmental column showing a green glass globe.

Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss

Dear EarthTalk:
How are the world’s snakes faring these days? Are they on the decline like so much wildlife and what can we do to help them survive?
Rick Finch, Pittsburgh, PA

Snakes play a critical role in their ecosystems as well as in human society. They keep rodent populations in check and have had a large role in medicine. Proteins in snake venom have helped develop medications used to treat cardiovascular disease, including blood thinning medications. The negative perception of snakes has led to the neglect of their conservation value. As agricultural expansion and habitat loss threaten snakes, snake research receives little funding and conservation needs receive little attention.

Snakes are ectotherms, cold-blooded animals. They can’t generate their own body heat, meaning that they have to move to suitable environments to regulate their body temperature. They can thrive in a range of habitats including forests, swamps, deserts, grasslands and salt, as well as fresh water. As agricultural expansion increases, snakes have been increasingly migrating. Nicolette L. Cagle, a Senior Lecturer in Ecology & Environmental Education at Duke University conducted her own field research on snakes, concluding that, “nearly two thirds of snake species are threatened by agricultural expansion.”

PROMO 64 Animal - Snake Rattlesnake - iStock - Shoemcfly - 89474309 — © iStock - Shoemcfly - 89474309

Also, many snake species cannot respond flexibly to habitat destruction. Certain species have narrow geographical distribution, making them especially vulnerable to the risk of local extinction. Large snakes are particularly sensitive to habitat loss. Conservation Science Partners, a non-profit that specializes in helping other conservation groups conduct various kinds of quantitative analysis, conducted a project on the Thamnophis gigas, also called the giant garter snake, in California’s Central Valley. They monitored the population dynamics of the species and the survival rates over a three-year period. Their research revealed that in California’s Central Valley, land-use change has destroyed more than 85 percent of wetlands. The giant garter snake has now declined so greatly that it is now listed as a threatened species.

Helping snakes can be challenging. Their populations aren’t easy to detect, and our attention to their conditions is a significant factor in helping them survive. By taking small initiatives on learning about snakes, we can help with the success of conserving snake populations. The Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine conducted research on the awareness and knowledge of snakes in an effort to better understand challenges to snake conservation. They found that the attitude and participation of the public toward snakes largely affects the success or failure of snake protection. Thus, participation and research will be encouraged if we make efforts to adjust our current perceptions of snakes. Simple acts such as calling a wildlife expert to relocate a snake in your backyard instead of killing it, or donating to efforts protecting endangered snakes, such as to save the snakes, have long-term effects on snake populations.