Critter Encounters

Two days in a row now I've had an interesting "critter encounter."

Snakes

Yesterday I was riding my mountain bike on the trails behind where I work, and I stopped at the top of a long climb to rest and cool off (it's suddenly summer - this was the first hot ride I've had since last September!). As I leaned my bike toward a telephone pole, I noticed out of my peripheral vision something moving near my front wheel.

I looked down, then immediately jumped back, startled by the large black snake I saw there. Once my initial surprise (shock?) had subsided, I realized this looked like a snake I'd seen before. Back in April I was walking in the woods, and I saw what looked like a two-headed black snake. On closer inspection it was two snakes entwined with one another, presumably mating. I watched them for a while (voyeur!), but moved along once it became apparent they were not going to do anything interesting. My post-walk research led me to believe I had seen two Northern Black Racers.


Northern Black Racer

I lay my bike down and crouched to get a better look at this fine-looking reptile, when I heard an ominous rattling from the dry leaves under a bush near this snake. For the second time in a minute I jumped back, thinking "what? a rattlensake too?"

After relocating my bike about 20 feet away, my overwhelming curiosity overcame my caution, and I returned to the bushes at the base of the telephone pole, with a stick this time. I gently probed the leaves where I had heard the rattling, and to my not-so-great surprise the black tail of my new friend resumed making the noise. Aha! Nice deception plan.

Back at the computer after my ride, I tried to verify that a Northern Black Racer would shake its tail in imitation of a rattlesnake. I discovered, however, that based on the rattling behavior, the snake I saw (at least yesterday, and perhaps on the previous occasion) was more likely an Eastern Black Kingsnake. Not being a herpetologist, I probably couldn't tell the difference.


Eastern Black Kingsnake

Turtles

My second "critter encounter" involved a turtle - sadly, I am not sure what kind. Anyway, this morning I was driving along a road on base and saw a small round shape in my side of the road. As I passed over it, I saw the head and legs. Seeing there was no traffic, I turned around and pulled up next to the seemingly dazed amphibian scuttling at top speed along the road.

As I approached it, the turtle redoubled its efforts, still heading along the road rather than across it. I picked it up and carried it, struggling valiantly, to the side of the road. I put it down with an admonition to avoid the pavement from now on.

I had another potential opportunity for turtle rescue recently, when I saw an Eastern Box Turtle lying in an off-base road . There was too much traffic to stop, so I could only hope he or she made it safely across the road.

These turtles are very common around here, and I see them around the trails all the time. Unfortunately they are not very smart about roads and cars, so if you see one of these slowpokes on the road, please slow down and avoid it. If you can do so without risking your life, you can do your own turtle rescue.


Eastern Box Turtle