VANCOUVER SUN (British Columbia) 10 June 06 Urban Critters: Garter snake (Nicholas Read)
Name: Garter snake. Not garden, but garter. There are three types living in the Lower Mainland: the common garter snake, the northwestern garter snake, and the western terrestrial garter snake. The common garter snake is, ahem, the most common.
How they got their name: It's a stretch, but to some people with over-developed imaginations, the striped patterning along their bodies is evocative of garters. All three types of garter snakes have that basic pattern.
When to see them: Now. Garter snakes hibernate all winter long and often in large groups. They burrow beneath the ground before it hardens and emerge in the spring. They are most commonly seen basking in the sun on rocks and on roads on warm summer days.
How big are they: Sixty to 80 centimetres, which makes them slightly shorter -- from nose to tail -- than a yardstick.
What they eat: Frogs, various invertebrates and mice, among other things.
Are they dangerous: To frogs, various invertebrates and mice, yes. But to humans, no. So there's no reason to be afraid of them.
Are they slimy: It depends. Touch your fingernails. Do they feel slimy? Because garter snakes' outer scales are made of the same substance as our fingernails: keratin.
What's dangerous to them: Raccoons, herons and birds of prey eat them. Humans in cars run over them. Their speed is their best means of escape, but they also emit a foul-smelling musk scent if anything -- or anyone -- tries to handle them.
How they're born: One of the most commonly cited differences between mammals and reptiles is that mammals give birth to live young and reptiles lay eggs. There are exceptions that test every rule, and the garter snake is one of them. They, too, give birth to live young -- up to two or three snakes at a time.
Those tongues: No, they're not for tasting, they're for smelling. When snakes' tongues flicker, they're looking for scents. Also, garter snakes are venomless. They don't poison their prey. But they do have teeth which they use to immobilize them.
The most amazing thing about them: They can do U-turns. When they want to get out of something's or someone's way, they place the front halves of their bodies in the opposition direction from the back halves, and away they go.
Source: Stanley Park Ecology Centre