Georgia Magazine - September 2021 - 22

landscape netting is responsible for many kingsnake deaths.
" It was the No. 1 call for injured snakes, " he says. " Sadly, they get
tangled in it, can't free themselves and die. "
Know your snakes
Project Pine Snake
Though Urban Kings is wrapping up, another citizen-science project
is going strong after 10 years. Project Pine Snake is a collaborative effort
to gather and share information about the elusive northern pine snake in
North Georgia.
These nonvenomous snakes possess a unique defense mechanism
designed to scare the heck out of predators.
" They puff up with air, then blow it back out again, " Hudson says.
" The deep bellow is all for show and is a sound you will not forget! And
like a lot of other nonvenomous snakes, pine snakes often shake their tails
against dry leaves when they feel threatened, which can be quite alarming
to people who see them and think they may be a rattlesnake. " (To watch a
video of this behavior, visit bit.ly/psbellow).
Hudson and other herpetologists admit they don't know much about
pine snakes, which spend most of their time underground. There are only
three or four sightings in Georgia each year, some of which are roadkill.
" A lot of older people remember seeing them throughout their
childhood and refer to them as bull snakes, and when I talk to them, they'll
say, 'Yeah, I used to see them all the time, but I haven't seen one in years,' "
Hudson says.
Pine snakes need large, open-canopied grassland areas to thrive, and
as farmland has been converted to urban use in the last several decades,
pine snake numbers have decreased.
" There seems to be a small pocket of pine snakes remaining in the
Blue Ridge Mountains of northeast Georgia, " he says. " And where there are
stands of montane longleaf pine trees in northwest Georgia, they are there,
too. But we don't think they are doing really well here in North Georgia. "
Hudson encourages people to learn what a northern pine snake looks
like and, if they see one, take a photo and immediately call him or the
Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to report it. Don't disturb,
handle or injure the snake.
" If you are a private landowner, contact me or the Georgia DNR to
discuss property-management practices that promote and preserve
ecosystems and wildlife, " he says.
Both Urban Kings and Project Pine Snake enable ordinary people
to help map the domains of snakes and learn about their behavior. The
knowledge gained will help guide decisions about wildlife conservation and
urban planning and development in the future.
" Both projects have been successful because people got involved, "
Hudson says. " Snakes and the natural world are phenomenal, and I'm glad
so many people cared enough to help. "
Amber Lanier Nagle is a freelance writer from Adairsville.
For more information or sighting reports
* Urban Kings: A Citizen Science Project, bit.ly/ukings or facebook.com/
urbankingsproject.
If you see a kingsnake, contact Bryan Hudson at (404) 556-1863 or
bdhudson@g.clemson.edu or Samantha Kennett at (678) 315-2020.
* Project Pine Snake, projectpinesnake.weebly.com or facebook.com/
projectpinesnake.
If you see a pine snake, contact Hudson (see above) or Zach Felix at
zif@reinhardt.edu.
22 Georgia Magazine September 2021
Pine snake
" Pine snakes are a little trickier to identify, "
Hudson says. " They tend to be very boldly patterned
with a light background, ranging from yellowish to
white, and dark brown or black markings. They have
dark, rounded shapes or bands on their back third,
blending into an almost-checkerboard pattern on
their middle third, blending into a much heavier,
dark pattern on their head. "
Live and let live
Snakes play a critical role in nature's food
chain. They are a food source for larger predators-
such as eagles, hawks and owls-and they eat mice,
rats, insects and other reptiles. Some nonvenomous
snakes, such as kingsnakes, eat venomous snakes.
For safety's sake, don't disturb or handle any
snake you may encounter in the wild.
Eastern kingsnake
Full-grown Eastern kingsnakes are typically
3 to 4 feet long. They are shiny black, smooth-scaled
snakes with white or yellow chain-link bands that
cross the back and connect along the sides. Sometimes
the chains are thin and may look like freckles;
other times, the chains are wide bands.
SAMANTHA KENNETT
URBAN KINGS PROJECT
http://www.bit.ly/psbellow http://www.bit.ly/ukings http://www.facebook.com/urbankingsproject http://www.facebook.com/urbankingsproject http://projectpinesnake.weebly.com http://www.facebook.com/projectpinesnake http://www.facebook.com/projectpinesnake
Georgia Magazine - September 2021

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