Friendly Reminder from a local biologist.

A friend and co-worker of mine sent the following email to me today. Since I have a special disgust for rodents and insects make me itch, I decided it would behoove me to share it with my friends. After reading the email, I imagine my next snake encounter to be filled with jams from Janet Jackson's "What have you done for me lately?" Anyone else get that feeling? Ooh ooh ooh yeah.

Friends and Colleagues,

To many of you, I am the stormwater coordinator, however, I am first and foremost a biologist. That is why I want to share this thought with you.

As I was driving to work this morning, I spotted 3 snakes on the highway. All three had been smashed by vehicle tires; two were in locations where it was obvious the driver had gone out of his/her way to smash the misunderstood slithering serpent. My mother is deathly afraid of snakes, and I too gasp when I have a surprised encounter with one. Many humans fear snakes, which has lead to the demise of many snake species; this fear has made humans the most vicious predator of snakes. Snakes should not be feared, especially since most snakes in Tennessee are non-venomous. So the next time you think about swerving to kill a snake in the road, please think about this: Snakes are also extremely beneficial and useful to humans!

Snakes are economically important as they act as a form of natural pest control, preying heavily on rodents and in many cases insects. Such animals can destroy crops, and spread harmful diseases to humans. Snakes are invaluable as they naturally help keep the numbers of these animals in check. Because of the recent floods, rodents have come into contact with many different contaminants which could allow them to become transmitters of disease. It even more important to limit the potential for rodent/human contact during this time. Understanding and respecting snakes’ roles as rodent exterminators, and allowing the snakes to go on their merry way will help.

So, if you do see a snake on the road, stop and help move it across in the direction its going. In fact, just walking over to it will most likely cause the snake to slither away. This ensures that both you and the snake will not be harmed. Long sticks can also be used to gently herd snakes off of the road. I know lots of people that do this for turtles. Just because snakes aren’t as cute as turtles, doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be able to go on their way unharmed by humans. If you are too afraid of snakes to stop and help, don’t run over them.

I know many of you will smirk and laugh at this, but hopefully some of you will learn from it. Being sustainable and going green also means being environmentally friendly it ecologically important critters (including snakes).