A home-owner encountering a rattlesnake in their yard, garage, or house can be un-nerving. As people build more houses in the Sonoran Desert, this kind of encounter becomes more frequent. In a recent paper, Batemen et al. (2022) analyze snake removals in a social-ecological context and it underscores the conservation benefits of researchers partnering with a local business to gain information on an elusive taxon. Similar collaborations could lead to direct conservation action for snakes by researchers learning from community members in cities and by groups willing to use results from research partnerships to inform their practices. Understanding how to maintain biodiversity in urbanizing arid regions could protect snakes if relocating snakes away from areas of high human density translates into fewer snakes killed by people annually.
The authors found that removals peaked during certain times of the year. Common species removed were rattlesnakes and gopher snakes that are active during all months except for winter months (December, January, February) and removals peaked in the spring and during the summer rainy season (monsoon) prior to brumation. Maps of snake removals show that non-venomous snakes occurred in the center of the metropolitan area and venomous snakes were more common near open desert spaces. Snake species with large bodies were more likely to be removed than medium or small snakes. Heavy-bodied, thick snakes were more likely to be removed, as were species which were longer in length. More sit-and-wait foraging type snakes were removed compared to active foragers. Species with warning coloration were more likely to be removed compared to cryptically colored.
Of the 2322 total removals, 1375 were venomous snakes. Both income and education increased the likelihood of venomous snake removal from a census block.
Citation
Bateman HL, Brown JA, Larson KL, Andrade R, Hughes B. 2021. Unwanted residential wildlife: Evaluating social-ecological patterns for snake removals. Global Ecology and Conservation. 2021 Jun 1;27:e01601.
