06/04/2022
This week's animal is the California Kingsnake! This fantastic colubrid is native to most of California and Arizona, southern Oregon, western Nevada, and southern Utah. California Kingsnakes are average sized snakes with full grown adults usually between 2.5 - 3.5 ft. Habitat preferences vary from desert to farmland, river bottoms, grasslands, and deciduous and coniferous forests, ranging from sea level up to roughly 3,000ft. Although California Kingnsnakes are largely terrestrial, they are excellent swimmers and climbers when necessary. During the warmer months, these snakes tend to be nocturnal but during cooler months, more activity can be witnessed during the day. California Kingsnakes also go through a slight brumation during this time where their metabolism slow down and their appetite severely drops. These snakes are spring breeders and will lay 5-17 eggs in late summer. Most kingsnakes, including the California Kingsnake, are opportunostic feeders, meaning they eat not only everything you would expect a snake to eat, like small mammals and birds, but also amphibians and other reptiles and that includes rattlesnakes! Something in their blood stream disrupts the venom's ability to bind to the cell, so there is a high level of immunity to rattlesnake venom. Still, California Kingsnakes have many predators like owls, hawks, badgers, and coyotes and occasionally they will rattle their tails to confuse those predators. Despite the challenges facing them, like changing climate pressures and human interference, these snakes are listed on the IUCN red list as a species of least concern. So as stewards of our natural world, it is our job to make sure they stay safe!
