SAGINAW NEWS (Michigan) 20 June 08 Snakes on a plain (Brian Manzullo)
Onlookers may see Kile R. Kucher around the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge catching eastern fox snakes with his bare hands.
At other times, he will wield a large antenna with one hand and a radio in another, tracking the imperiled species and recording where the reptiles roam in the habitat.
Kucher, a 25-year-old Central Michigan University graduate student working on his biology thesis, is gathering data on eastern fox snakes using implanted radio transmitters and recording environmental variables such as weather conditions and the types of plants the snakes associate with.
Nine snakes have transmitters, and Kucher said he has three more to implant in the next two weeks.
''I hope to gather enough information that will help us conserve the species in the habitat,'' he said. ''Anything I find out is going to be helpful.''
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources tabbed the eastern fox snake, a nonvenomous reptile often mistaken for a rattlesnake, as a threatened species because of the state's loss of wetlands, the snake's main habitat. The eastern fox snake, a once-common species, is confined to the coastal plain of parts of lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario.
The Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, one of three such refuges where the eastern fox is found, is working with Kucher and CMU on a two-year study, hoping to pinpoint the snake's main habitats and behaviors and develop conservation strategies.
''We'd like to know if there are specific habitats they're using more than others so we can make sure we maintain them,'' said Steven Kahl, Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge manager.
Kucher catches the snakes he sees in the wild and takes them to Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, where specialists implant radio transmitters smaller than an adult's pinkie finger.
Kucher waits up to one week to make sure there are no complications from the surgery before he returns the snakes to the refuge.
The search for the snakes almost was in vain, Kucher said.
''The first two weeks I worked on this, I couldn't find any; it was disheartening,'' he said. ''Since then, I've actually found about 25 or 26 snakes. There's a fairly good number here.''
Kucher's radio beeps with greater intensity whenever a snake with a transmitter is close. He records the position of each snake he finds to track the habitats they use the most. He also writes down other variables such as air temperature, cloud cover and wind speed.
Although the research is in its early stages, Kahl said it has uncovered several concerns.
''Most of the snakes we found are large, which suggests that they may not be reproducing, at least not abundantly,'' he said. ''Some snakes are getting run over on M-13 and on Center, too.''
Kucher will follow the snakes and map their locations until October, when they hibernate, he said.
He'll continue his research into next year, when he plans to graduate with a master's degree in biology. He has a bachelor's degree in fisheries and wildlife from Michigan State University, which is close to his home near Lansing.
Kucher, who also studied sea lampreys and massasauga snakes, said he is enjoying the experience.
''I'm able to do my own research this time around,'' he said. ''Before, I would work as a research assistant.''
Snakes on a plain