LONDON FREE PRESS (Ontario) 25 July 05 Threatened Queen Snake Gains London-Area PR Agent (Joe Matyas)
A rare snake is fighting for survival in southern Ontario.
Never considered abundant, the Queen snake has declined in numbers in recent decades and is now listed as a threatened species.
Fighting to help save the reptile is Scott Gillingwater, a species-at-risk biologist for the London-based Upper Thames River Conservation Authority.
While threatened big-game animals and pretty wildlife often grab attention, Gillingwater says snakes like the Queen also deserve protection.
"We should care about what's scaled as much as what's feathered and furry."
"Every species is entitled to respect because it's all part of the web of life," Gillingwater said.
Also known as the seven stripe water snake (its Latin name is Regina Septemvittata), the Queen has only been seen in 16 locations since 1979.
"There's been a steady decline in the snakes. They're definitely at risk. It means there's something going on in the environment with water quality, the snake's habitat or its food source that's threatening its existence."
The Queen is a slender olive brown or black snake about 60 centimetres long when fully grown. It can be identified by yellowish stripes on its sides, three darker stripes on its back and four brown stripes on a creamy belly.
The snake is usually found in or near water, where it feeds on freshly molted (soft-bodied) crayfish, swallowing them live and whole.
"It's a harmless and shy snake," said Gillingwater.
It's also a species Gillingwater is trying to preserve in the wild with a recovery plan arising from research funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources.
"I've got to give the foundation and ministry credit for having the fortitude to invest in reptile field studies," he said.
Gillingwater said wildlife preservationists are "mainly interested in what's cute and spectacular," he said, adding reptiles like the Queen snake normally get scant attention.
The Queen snake is an indicator species that provides evidence about the state of the river environment, he said.
Gillingwater's study of the snake includes where it lives, how it reproduces, what it eats and what threatens its existence.
The goal is to find ways to reduce the threats so the decline of the snake and other species can be stopped or even reversed, he said.
"There's one thing anyone can do -- don't kill it if you see one," he said. "Don't remove it from its habitat."
Gillingwater has authored other published studies on species at risk, including one on the spiny softshell turtle and another on the Massassauga rattlesnake, Ontario's only venomous snake.