News

News about garter snakes, from the latest in scientific research to conservation news to unusual human-snake confrontations, from around the Web.

Saskatchewan Snake-Tosser Sentenced
News, One of two men charged with tossing a garter snake in a Saskatoon Tim Hortons restaurant has been given a six-month conditional discharge. His co-accused failed to appear at a hearing and is wanted by police. The snake, a Plains… »
Garter Snake Found in St. John’s
News, Garter snakes aren’t native to Newfoundland and Labrador, though a population of them seems to be persisting on the southwest coast of Newfoundland (1, 2). Last month, though, a live garter snake was found in a St. John’s suburb —… »
Saskatchewan Snakes Released
News, About 250 Plains Garter Snakes that were removed from a house near Regina, Saskatchewan last fall were finally released over the weekend (see also). The snakes had spent the winter at a wildlife rehabilitation centre…. »
Disturbed B.C. Garter Snakes Released at Den Site
News, The garter snakes whose hibernation was disturbed last month by dike repair have been returned to the den site at Boundary Bay in Delta, British Columbia, where they’d normally be emerging from hibernation at about this time…. »
Garter Snake Hibernaculum Disturbed in B.C.
News, Construction work on a dike in Delta, British Columbia has disturbed the hibernation site of hundreds of garter snakes, CBC News and Global News report. The snakes, which reportedly include Wandering, Puget Sound and Northwestern Garter Snakes (the news photos… »
Sask. Man Tosses Snake in Restaurant
News, Saskatchewan again, for some reason. A man arguing with staff at a Tim Hortons in Saskatoon pulled a garter snake from a friend’s coat and threw it behind the counter. The staff fled; the two men were apprehended and face… »
The Evolution of Garter Snake Toxin Resistance
News, New research into newt toxin resistance in garter snakes explores the DNA of the snakes’ sodium channels: while western garter snakes have evolved TTX resistance in their muscle channels, all garter snakes, even eastern snakes who encounter newts far less… »
Snakes Swarm Saskatchewan
News, That snakes turn up in people’s basements at the onset of winter is a known thing, but a house near Regina, Saskatchewan has had a few more than usual. Last month it was reported that 102 Plains Garter Snakes had… »
Garter Snakes Threatened by Fire, Grazing in U.S. Southwest
News, A couple of items on garter snakes at risk in the U.S. southwest. Last month, the Arizona Daily sun reported on the impact of serious wildfires in Arizona and New Mexico on the endangered Narrow-headed Garter Snake (AP story; see… »
Giant Garter Receives 140 Acres in Mitigation
News, Due to mitigation rules for endangered species, 140 acres of habitat, including 60 acres of new wetland, is being set aside in San Joaquin County, California, for the Giant Garter Snake, the Stockton, California Record reports. Those 60 acres will… »
Alaska Garter Snake Identified
News, A road-killed garter snake found near Haines, Alaska in 2005 has been identified. In a brief note published in the Journal of Herpetology in 2011 (PDF), researches using mtDNA testing identified the snake as a Northwestern Garter Snake, Thamnophis ordinoides…. »
More on Toxin Resistance
News, Andrew Durso’s blog post is a fascinating look into the science behind the rapidly escalating arms race taking place on the Pacific coast of North America between toxic newts and the garter snakes who have been evolving toxin resistance to… »