A team of researchers from the Memphis Zoo has spent the past 11 years working to save the endangered Louisiana pine snake. Last week, in conjunction with Earth Day, the team released 50 juvenile snakes into the Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana.
In 2010, Dr. Steve Reichling, research director, and his team at the Memphis Zoo began working to revive the Louisiana pine snake and repopulate the species in its natural habitat. Through captive breeding programs that involved artificial insemination, as well as natural breeding, the research team produced hundreds of fertile eggs which they have raised and prepped to be released back in the wild.
On Earth Day, April 22nd, the Memphis Zoo research team was joined by partners on the project from Fort Worth Zoo, Alexandria Zoo, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and U.S. Forest Service to release 50 juvenile pine snakes into their indigenous habitat safely into stump holes and pocket gopher tunnels. The research team also discovered that snakes from previous releases have begun breeding naturally in the wild. It’s an important discovery, say zoo officials, one that shows the captive-bred snakes have successfully adapted to the area and will hopefully recover from its endangered status.
The Louisiana Pine Snake is the rarest snake in North America, native to the longleaf pine forests of Louisiana and Texas. They are non-venomous, with distinctive tan bodies patterned with blackish-brown splotches down their back. Their main prey source is the pocket gopher, which is prevalent in their ecosystem. They tend to live in the holes of pocket gophers and spend more than half their lives below ground.
