Endangered reptiles help more than they hurt

By Matt Elofson

Published: August 30, 2008

Often where there’s fear of an animal there’s an imminent danger.

But Sheila Herring changed her first impression of snakes Saturday at a talk at Landmark Park as part of the Science on Saturdays. Herring, of Wicksburg, said she learned snakes are not just a nuisance, but have benefits, including rodent control.

Page Whatley, a volunteer reptile rescue member, led the talk on endangered Alabama reptiles, which included the indigo snake, the gopher tortoise, the alligator snapper turtle among others. Whatley called the alligator snapper turtle the largest turtle in the county, which can grow up to 200 to 300 pounds.

“His talk was interesting because you really don’t think about snakes as being endangered,” Herring said. “It let me know if you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone.”

Herring, who attended the event with her 7-year-old son, Ethan Herring, and her daughter, called it enlightening.

“He loves reptiles and he loves bugs so this was just the thing for him,” Herring said of her son.

Herring and her children were part of Cubscout Pack 57, out of Wicksburg, to attend the event. 

“It’s a lot of information for the price to come,” Ken Jernigan said, the cubmaster. “I’ve had my run-ins with them but I respect them”

Whatley explained some of the major contributors to the animals becoming endangered include feral hogs and coyotes. Armadillos and fire ants are also known to feed on the on snake eggs.

Whatley questioned why people go out of their way to kill snakes and other reptiles. Whatley said Alabama has more turtle species than any other state.

“If you could just give a snake a break, let him cross the road, let the turtle cross the road,” Whatley said. “There’s no such thing as a snake that’ll come after you. Most snakes first instinct is to flee, and then if he can’t flee he’ll attack.”

He showed an indigo snake along with the much smaller corn snake to a room full of nearly 50 people. Whatley called the corn snake the world’s number one pet snake.

He said most people have never seen an indigo snake, which resembles a black snake only larger with a size up to the width of an adult human arm.

Whatley said a weakness for the snake is its lack of speed, but it’s life expectancy is between 20 and 30 years. He said Auburn University has started a breeding program to reintroduce the endangered snake back into the state.

“He feels like a vinyl floor, not slimy,” Whatley said. “He is super super strong, but they’re not in the constrictor family. This snake right here could swallow a 4 foot rattle snake no problem.”