HERALD TIMES (Bloomington, Indiana) 24 October 10 Rare, small Kirtland's snakes live in edge of Monroe, Brown counties (Carol Kugler)
In the wooded hillsides of Brown and Monroe counties are two of Indiana's state endangered snakes: the timber rattlesnake and the Kirtland's snake.
For more than 20 years, Jeff Johnson , a self-professed snake lover, has been looking for Kirtland's snakes near his rural Monroe County home.
The first Kirtland's snake he found was in 1989 on the road in front of his house. At first, he couldn't tell if it was alive or dead.
"I'm thinking it's a water snake. Then I got a little closer, and I can't identify it," Johnson said. He then saw it was dead. Johnson went back in his house, looked up the snake and discovered it was a Kirtland's snake, the first he'd seen.
Then, Johnson started finding more Kirtland's snakes near his home.
After checking with some area snake experts, Johnson was told Kirtland's snakes are on Indiana's state endangered species list. He was told he should talk with officials at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources about his finds. DNR officials identified the snakes as Kirtland's and asked him to save any road kills for verification.
"They gave me paperwork to fill out every time I found one," he said. "I was finding so many that they said, 'Well, you don't have to fill out paperwork every time. How about just filling out an annual report?'"
With the data he provided, DNR officials decided the Monroe/Brown county population is the largest one they know of in Indiana.
"As of today," Johnson said Tuesday, "since 1989, I've found 328 (Kirtland's) and only 17 were alive. And three of those were babies I found this year."
Johnson said he finds the snakes in "various places," as he rides his bicycle or walks along the road or in the woods. "I found the babies in my yard mowing," he said. "Generally, they like to be near water but not in water."
The snakes only grow to be between 13-17 inches on average, according to Sarabeth Kleuh, herpetologist for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Kirtland's snakes have unique markings on the belly, with a pink or reddish color and alternating rows of black dots.
Johnson explained that a Kirtland's can be mistaken for a garter snake, but Kirtland's don't have the length-wise stripe along its body that a garter snake has.
"They're the coolest little snakes in the world," Johnson said. "If it gets warm enough, I'm out there looking for those little guys."
But even though Johnson is out looking for more Kirtland's, he's the first to tell people not to handle the snakes.
"You can't kill them, and you're not supposed to touch them if at all possible," he said. "But you can touch them to get them out of the way, if they're on the road or something."
Johnson said Kirtland's snakes are very docile, and if someone has to pick one up, they should be very gentle. The snake is not likely to bite or spray musk.
Kleuh said people cannot take them home as a pet either. And even though they are unlikely to bite, Klueh warned that "any snake could bite."
She also said that if anyone thinks they have found a Kirtland's snake, they should contact her by calling her at 812-334-1137 or e-mailing sklueh@dnr.in.gov.
Rare, small Kirtland's snakes live in edge of Monroe, Brown counties