Behold, I give unto you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; Do not injure yourself. Luke 10:19
While 26 snakes slipped in Buckeye, most of them were invisible and thoughtless. That may be a good thing for many people because cataracts (human fear of snakes) are very common. More importantly, it is better for snakes that very few people slap their eyes on them. Humans are the serpent’s worst enemies.
The bad reception office for snakes started at least as far as the Bible is rich in anti-snake passages. The serpent is clearly used as a metaphor for the evil that is completely seen. The popularity of that ancient doll has been the perception of the colorful people of our most fascinating group of animals for thousands of years.
Nature:Rare Maryland grassland found in Ohio
We persecute snakes directly for no good reason. In Ohio, most of our reptile rage refers to non-venomous species, which are 23 of our 26 species. Common victims of human evil are species such as the eastern cobra and the gray rat.
Both types are completely harmless. Even the three poisonous species in Ohio are mild. Ive encountered the eastern copper head Massasauga (cobra) and wood viper several times over the years and in all cases their reliability is remarkable.
Must work to escape the snake. Easier said than done, this is how they will be.
For me and many of my comrades, meeting a snake of any kind is always the main point of going out. But a northern rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus)? Rarely will an animal ever experience that.
Back on September 8th, I and 15 others were walking the old streets through the Shawnee State Forest in southern Ohio. We are attending a conference on native plants and this is a night trip to find animals at night. Suddenly there was a shout from the darkness. Denise Arnett Ruby found the green snake!
Everyone rushes to see the handsome snake. Rough green snakes spend their days wandering through branches and bushes in search of worms, crickets, spiders, and other animals. No other backbone. When threatened, the young green snake will freeze and be almost invisible among the leaves.
Green snakes sleep at night and are often easy to find under flashlights. That’s how Denise came across this one and we are all beneficiaries. It is a life snake for the whole team.
All 26 species of Ohios have declined since the arrival of the settlers, many of whom are so alarming. Rough green snakes are probably more degenerate than most. It is south at the northern limit of its range in southern Ohio. Historically, it was organized into 14 districts. It is now known that there are only five.
Direct human harassment may not be the main factor in this case. High-origin green snakes are just too secretive and difficult to observe and tend to occur in sparsely populated areas. They love the edge of the forest and the open forest, and that is the shelter I have seen all of the 15-20 individuals I have encountered over the years.
Nature:Surprisingly Bright but Rarely Found in Ohio
Forest management practices, especially logging, have declined markedly. In addition to the degradation of green snake forest habitats, logging operations can destroy or destroy nest sites: hollow trees, hollow trees, deep leaf storage, rocks, and so on. Probably a factor as to why they’re doing so poorly.
Our green snake is a little disturbed when it wakes up and blinks a little. It finally settled in and allowed the team to closely monitor and obtain photos. Snakes do not try to bite, and such attempts are very rare. I dealt with some of them and no one tried to strike.
Conservation of large forest ecosystems such as the 70,000-hectare Shawnee State Forest is critical to the protection of animals such as green snakes. That also applies to intelligent forest management, which should include the conservation of all native biodiversity.
Naturalist Jim McCormac writes for The Dispatch on the first, third, and fifth Sunday of the month. He also wrote about nature at.jimmccormac.blogspot.com.
#Coarse #green #snake #Shawnee #forest
Image Source : www.dispatch.com
