WICHITA EAGLE (Kansas) 09 November 08 In weather like this, it's great to be a snake (Michael Pearce)
Most Kansans will remember this autumn for the warm weather.
Those with ophidiophobia -- a fear of snakes -- may also remember it for the same warm weather.
"Snakes have really been out all over the place this fall. A lot of people are commenting on it," said Joe Collins, Center for North American Herpetology founder. "We've always had what we call the October surge. This year it's been really strong."
How strong?
A friend of Collins recently counted more than 200 assorted snakes on the roads within the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge one weekend.
On a leisurely drive down back roads last Sunday afternoon, Collins and his wife, Suzanne, caught 20 snakes. Most were common garter snakes.
Western Kansas farmers and ranchers have been commenting on the high numbers of rattlesnakes they've seen.
"It's because of the combination of the nice warm days and the cold nights," said Collins, of Lawrence. "All of the snakes you weren't seeing in the summer because they were active at night are now active during the middle of day when people are active, too."
Most of the reptiles are also on the move searching for den sites where they can hibernate for the winter.
"They're also foraging about, hoping to bulk up so they can make it through the winter," Collins said. "They have to get all of those grasshoppers that they can."
He annually gets reports of active snakes found across Kansas every month of the year. Things usually begin to taper off in November.
"When the daytime temps are in the 50s, things get a little shaky for snakes," he said. "They need to be somewhere for the winter."
And though scores of snake-free days of winter are easy on ophidiophobics, they're far from easy on snakes.
Many don't survive hibernation.
Last year, warm winter rains flooded many snake dens. Most snakes caught in the cold waters were too cold to swim and drowned.
During cold spells, some snakes freeze to death.
"A lot of these snakes don't get down far enough. That leads to a lot of winter kill," Collins said. "I guess the smart ones are left to pass on their genes."
In weather like this, it's great to be a snake