Around 200 garter snakes get new den near Williams Lake

Around 200 garter snakes are hibernating in a newly created den just outside of Williams Lake.

This fall, construction crews were widening the highway near Pioneer Log Homes of B.C., just south of the city's core, when they found a den full of two species of garter snakes. The contractor, Cantex, contacted the provincial government and biologists were brought in to relocate the snakes.

"This is actually the first time that a large number of snakes have been discovered where we actually had to relocate the den," said provincial wildlife biologist Julie Steciw.

She was one of many snake experts brought in to help move the animals. They came to the conclusion they needed to trap the snakes and move them to a new location. Along with highway crews, biologists were able to capture the reptiles and store them in bins.

Created a new den

"Because of our climate, we didn't really want them in the bins all winter," Steciw said.

It was deemed too difficult to overwinter the reptiles because they would need a specific temperature and humidity in order to survive the season.

Instead, they created a new den just down the highway from where the snakes were originally found.

They made a new enclosure by placing large boulders and covering those rocks up with dirt. The snakes were released near the new site and essentially herded into their new home.

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"We have snakes throughout the Cariboo," Steciw said. "However, we don't have very many known den locations and this just happened to be an extreme situtation."

'Tough on snakes'

There are still concerns for what will happen to the snakes because of the move. Provincial WildSafeBC co-ordinator Frank Ritcey deals with snakes and reptiles around the province. 

"In general, it is tough on the snakes because they get very used to their hibernaculum and they'll want to return," he said.

Though Ritcey was not involved with the relocation in the Williams Lake area, he has seen large groupings of snakes in the Kamloops area. The reptiles often will try to get to their original den even after they are moved — and that can cause problems for them.

"It's very hard for a snake to survive in an area that's crisscrossed with highways."

He says snakes are often killed on highways because they are attracted to the warm temperatures of the pavement and some of the shelter provided by barriers along the side of the road.

The relocated snakes are expected to emerge in the spring before dispersing into habitats around the Cariboo. 

With files from Daybreak Kamloops

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