NARCISSE -- One of the most spectacular rites of spring will be on display this week: thousands of snakes, slithering up from their subterranean dens out into the sunshine.
The delicate red garter snakes have emerged from their underground winter lair in limestone caves and crevices below the frost line, and made a mad dash to mate.
The sight of so many slithering snakes fascinated 10-year-old CJ Wishart.
Every spring, some 70,000 of the creatures come out into the sunlight before mating and heading off to Interlake marshes where they will stay until returning to their dens in the fall.
The sight of so many slithering snakes fascinated 10-year-old CJ Wishart.
"I like watching snakes," said CJ, as she gently held one of the brilliantly coloured garters. If she did not handle it properly, she would have likely been sprayed with musk from the rear end of the snake. They use pheromones to communicate warnings to stay away -- and to come hither, if they are in the mood to mate.
CJ made the trip with her parents from their farm near Portage la Prairie, where she has seen garters -- which can swim -- eat gold fish from their pond. She learned something new about the creatures at Narcisse from one of the Manitoba Conservation signs at the site: Snakes are easy prey, themselves.
"Crows kill them, but they just eat their liver."
Cars kill them, too. Along Highway 17 northwest of Teulon there are streaks of squished snakes that emerged from their dens far from the safety of the highway underpasses designed especially for them to make it to the marshes safely.
You can see more snakes at a glance here than anywhere else in the world, according to provincial government tourist information. For two brief periods each year, tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes congregate at the surface of their winter dens. Beginning with the first few warm days of spring, garter snakes emerge from these dens and gather in large numbers to perform a fascinating mating ritual. Following a two- to three-week frenzy of mating activity, snakes disperse to nearby marshes for the summer.
"Its a pretty wonderful experience to see nature up close," said MLA Erin Selby, at the Narcisse dens for the first time with her daughters, triplets Hayden, Avery and Bronwyn.
"They were pretty excited," she said, as Hayden softly held aloft the garter snake she caught, careful to follow the handling instructions given by one of the conservation officers at the site. Her two sisters vied for their turn.
"I never thought I'd see my daughters fighting over a snake."
This past weekend was the optimal time to see the snakes at the viewing areas, according to Manitoba Conservation.
Snake numbers at the Narcisse snake dens have been low mainly because of cooler weather.
Now, the remaining snakes will begin to disperse to their summer range and chances to see them en masse will decline significantly, say provincial conservation officers who are the keepers of the site which is free and open to the public.
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
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