Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus
Florida Pine Snake
Jasper Co., South Carolina. May 27, 2000.
We could see
the snake crossing the road, crawling away from a large tract of pine
trees in the process of being logged. Another car was already off the road,
but we quickly stopped and got the snake off the road. The man in the car on the
roadside was getting out a pistol to 'cap that snake'. We had
arrived just in time!
What a beautiful Pine Snake! I especially love
the way the head is colored. I have a weakness for Florida Pines,
having raised several up from hatchlings many years ago. The area we
were in was good habitat, with a lot of pine woods featuring loose, sandy
soil.
It was a nice find, and a nice save, too. The
man wasn't too upset that he didn't get to kill the snake; after talking
to him, it seemed like he thought it was just something that needed to be
done. It's hard for me to understand that kind of thinking.
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