100 Species #22: Common garter snake

[urbpan]

A common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) found at the edge of my driveway. The garter snake is North America's most common and abundant reptile. It is a small (rarely growing to 3 feet long) predator of earthworms, slugs, salamanders and other small animals. It prey to many other creatures including skunks, larger birds, and as I suspect in this case, house cats. I suspect a cat because this snake's carcass is entirely here, none of it is eaten, but it's head has been crushed by a bite. Most predators kill as a matter of feeding themselves, while domestic cats are sated of this need and kill because the instinct moves them to; they leave the dead behind as grisly offerings on pillows, doorsteps, and driveways.


Each scale on a garter snake is keeled, bearing its own central ridge, giving the skin an overall rough appearance. The garter snake is named for the band of fabric that holds up stockings, though many mishear the name as "garden snake."



The snake's crushed head. First I assumed that the snake was crushed by one of our cars, but no part of the body was flattened. I relocated the carcass to our brush pile, where it disappeared quickly, most likely into one of our local skunks.


Garter snakes have appeared in photos on this blog before, from Drumlin Farm, Franklin Park Zoo (as a wild, non-collection animal), and at Cutler Park.

Comments

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

it is a finer solution - for sure the songbirds and voles and mice and snakes think so.