Snake-fans can find a plethora in Pennsylvania
MUDDY CREEK TWP — While at work Sunday, Mike Shaffer came across a northern ringneck snake and put it in a little glass container.
It came in handy for his presentation that day about North American snakes, because it is an especially small species not harmful to humans and can be held.
Shaffer, a park naturalist at Moraine and McConnells Mill state parks, talked about snakes for nearly two hours at McDanel’s Boat Launch at Moraine. In his presentation, Shaffer told about 15 people in attendance how to differentiate between venomous and nonvenomous snakes, where they are commonly found and what 12 snake species have been found in Butler County.
His talk included several snake skins and the one live subject, the northern ringneck.
“I just give people the gist about snakes in North America,” Shaffer said after the presentation. “I have done this presentation so many times, I just learned a lot through the years.”
According to Shaffer, snakes in general do not present danger to people, and even venomous ones are rarely aggressive.
Three types of venomous snakes can be found in Pennsylvania — the eastern copperhead, the eastern massasauga and the timber rattlesnake. The copperhead and massasauga have been confirmed in Butler County. In general, nonvenomous snakes are solid colored and thin, while venomous snakes typically are thicker and have ring patterns along their bodies.
Shaffer also said many snake species are dwindling in number, so even some of the 12 identified in Butler County have not been seen in years.
“Snakes, as a whole, are actually getting smaller and smaller in size,” Shaffer said. “Their habitat is just not as strong and healthy as it was 100 years ago.”
Different snake species have been dwindling in population in part because they are difficult to relocate. Shaffer recommended that people not take snakes too far away from their territory if they find them on their property.
“Snakes are really hard to repopulate in an area,” Shaffer said. “If you take it like more than a mile away from their homes, they usually end up dying.”
Sisters Kinley, 11, and Haven Manges, 5, of Middlesex Township, enjoyed the presentation, and Haven had several questions for Shaffer throughout.
They both said their favorite part of the presentation was feeling the snake skins and finally holding the ringneck, which felt different than they expected.
“It wasn’t slimy, but it was very cold and weird,” Kinley said. “The rattlesnake skin actually felt cool.”
