DAILY IBERIAN (New Iberia, Louisiana) 20 September 13 Raintree school officials on alert after snakes found (McKenzie Womack)
Baldwin: Raintree Elementary School faculty and staff are taking the proper precautions after snakes were found on the school’s campus, said principal Charlene Borne.
Four cottonmouth snakes were found last week at Raintree. This incident is not a first time occurrence as the school is in the middle of cane fields and surrounded by open ditches in the front of the school and the drop-off area, said St. Mary Parish superintendent Donald Aguillard.
Aguillard said maintenance personnel responded by cutting grass and weed-eating around structures, as well as addressing vegetation in open ditches.
Principal Charlene Borne said she always has made sure area hospitals has anti-venom in the instance of a snake bite.
Custodians and additional staff sweep areas outside before children leave the school, she said, and the areas where the children play outside have been minimized so the staff has more control.
Borne said these practices were already in place, but the school has increased the number of sweeps.
“It’s unfortunate that some babies were here,” she said. “We’re doing everything we can because the children’s safety is most important.”
Jeff Boundy, a wildlife biologist for the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, said the school called him to ask how to handle the situation.
Boundy said three of the cottonmouths were found together.
“The likely scenario is that a female gave birth and that’s why they were all there together,” he said. “It’s not like an infestation where the cottonmouths just decided to show up.”
Boundy said a female will usually give birth to four to 10 babies, but the babies tend to disperse after they are born. He said the potential for seeing more of the babies decreases as time goes by.
Boundy said cottonmouth snakes are poisonous and rely on camouflaging themselves until a predator or prey comes along.
Bites are serious enough to require hospital visits, he said.
Aguillard said the public can “rest assured” that the campus will be closely monitored before students leave the main building for activities.
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