Herpin' the Apalachicola Nature Trail Boardwalk

Brief video footage of an encounter with one of my favorite herps, known locally in N. Florida as an Oak or Grey Rat Snake. (Elaphe obsoleta spiloides). I met this fine specimen warming itself in a puddle of late afternoon sunshine, along a shady, in-town boardwalk near the river's edge. Its railing basking spot was at least twelve feet off the ground, attesting to this species' arboreal tendencies. It would be so tempting to take this big, well-mannered, beauty home, but I can't bear the thought of captivity for this splendid tree-climber. Instead, I eased it into the cover of a nearby Cedar, away from the hungry eyes of owls and ospreys, where he/she can continue it's search for a mate. I read that a female this size can lay up to 20 eggs in the coming months; with a life expectancy of 12 years in the wild, I hope that in the future, some other lucky person will be able to marvel at his or her descendants!

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Apalachicola
• herp
• herpetile
• snake
• oak snake
• grey rat snake
• Florida
• coast
• river
• outdoors
• nature trail
• ecosystem
• wildlife
• wildlife viewing
• nature

[xxxHERPERxxx]

Are you at that nature trail near that pond? I walked on that one, thanks for the video. I was hoping to see one of these.