The snake that Steve received via express delivery yesterday didn’t come with a surgically implanted radio transmitter. But some bull snakes in Saskatchewan are currently in the process of being equipped with such devices as part of a scientific project to monitor their population and movements to better understand how they, as cold-blooded animals, are able to survive in such an unforgiving climate where temperatures, for at least six months of the year, are usually below the freezing mark.
One finding that scientists have already made is that bull snakes, which are non-venomous constrictors that squeeze their prey to death and can grow to two-metres in length, maintain both a winter home (typically an underground den) and a summer breeding site as part of their territory.
Learn more in this CBC report that features some video of the scientists (and snakes) in action.
