Latest news with #CatherineRicketts
Miami Herald
02-05-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
42 apex predators that feast on venomous snakes released in Florida. What to know
Biologists trudged through the grassy nature preserve carrying cloth bags that contained fearsome-seeming cargo: 42 snake-eating apex predators. The conservation program has now released 209 Eastern indigo snakes in Florida as part of efforts to revitalize the population of the rare species, The Nature Conservancy announced. During the ninth annual release, the team let 42 snakes loose into the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve, where the species hadn't been seen since 1982 until reintroduction efforts began in 2017, organizers said. Biologists hatched the snakes in captivity at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens' Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation. The snakes then were raised at Welaka National Fish Hatchery until they reached the age of 2 and were ready to be released into the wild. The Eastern indigos look formidable on paper — they eat venomous snakes, and they're the longest snakes native to the U.S. — but they're non-venomous themselves and aren't aggressive when approached, researchers say. The snakes are known for their sleek, sometimes iridescent bluish-black scales and their ability to reach 9 feet in length, according to the National Park Service. They live in symbiosis with gopher tortoises, using their burrows for shelter and laying eggs, researchers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. Habitat loss and fragmentation have contributed to the decline of the snakes from their historical range in the Southeast, including in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. The population has been mostly whittled down to Florida and parts of southern Georgia, although the Central Florida Zoo has also released Eastern indigos in Alabama. During a 2024 survey at the Florida preserve, the team said it found a 6-foot-long male, a 'testament to the health and longevity of the snakes released here.' Researchers also celebrated the milestone discovery of two hatchlings in 2023, which proves the species has begun producing a new generation of wild-hatched snakes. 'In our longleaf pine-wiregrass savannas, we want the complete suite of species here, including birds, mammals, insects and an apex predator: the eastern indigo snake,' said Catherine Ricketts, manager of the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve. 'These snakes are a key component of restoring north Florida's longleaf pine forests.' The preserve has undergone restoration of the longleaf pine and sandhill ecosystems, making it a suitable habitat for the species' reintroduction, Ricketts said. Last year, the team released 41 snakes, McClatchy News previously reported, just barely making this year a record for the most Eastern indigos released into the wild.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
42 of the Longest Snakes in the U.S. Purposefully Released in Florida for the Ninth Time
The residents of the Sunshine State have a few more scaly neighbors. On April 25, The Nature Conservancy and its partners released 42 young eastern indigo snakes, 22 females and 20 males, at the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve (ABRP) in Florida, according to the organization. The reptile is the longest snake species native to the U.S. While some may balk at adding more snakes to the neighborhood, there is a good reason behind the release, which is an annual event. The 2025 release marks the ninth consecutive year The Nature Conservancy has released eastern indigo snakes at the ABRP as part of its collaborative program to return the native, non-venomous apex predator to the region. Forty-two eastern indigo snakes is the most the organization has released at one time. Related: Virginia Woman Left 'Traumatized' After Finding a Snake in Her Margarita at a Mexican Restaurant Over nine years, The Nature Conservancy has released 209 snakes into the restored sandhill habitat at the ABRP, and the hard work to help this threatened snake species rebound has paid off. In 2023, conservationists spotted two wild-born hatchlings, the first recorded offspring of the released snakes. "In restoring ecosystems, each species plays a part in bringing back natural balance," the ABRP preserve manager, Catherine Ricketts, said in a statement. "In our longleaf pine-wiregrass savannas, we want the complete suite of species here, including birds, mammals, insects, and an apex predator: the eastern indigo snake. These snakes are a key component of restoring north Florida's longleaf pine forests." Related: Man Gets 'Shock of His Life' When He Finds Venomous Snake in His Home and Evidence His Cat Bit the Reptile Before The Nature Conservancy releases the eastern indigo snakes, the reptiles hatch at Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens' Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation (OCIC), where they spend one year before moving to Welaka National Fish Hatchery for another year. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. When the snakes are freed at the ABRP, they are two years old and still growing. Eastern indigo snakes can grow to be over eight feet long. The ABRP is the only location in Florida designated for their reintroduction. The reptile is also being reintroduced in Alabama. In both states, the snakes are helping balance the southern longleaf pine ecosystems through their diet of small animals, including both venomous and non-venomous snakes. Read the original article on People
