Narcisse Snake Dens

Narcisse Snake Dens welcome sign

A red-sided garter snake

The Narcisse Snake Dens is a provincial wildlife management area located in the Rural Municipality of Armstrong about 6 km (3.7 mi) north of Narcisse, Manitoba. The dens are the winter home of tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis). These pits are the largest known concentration in the world of this particular type of snake. Their winter dens are caverns formed by the area's water-worn limestone bedrock. In the spring, they come up from their dens to the snake pits, where they mate, then they disperse into the nearby marshes for the summer.

Conservation

Close up of a red-sided garter snake

The population of red-sided garter snakes around Narcisse was roughly 70,000 until terrible weather in 1999 killed tens of thousands of them before they could reach their winter dens. This tragedy triggered concern about the snakes' biannual migratory path, which cuts right across Highway 17. Every year, 10,000 snakes trying to get to or from their winter dens had been crushed under the wheels of vehicles. This had not been a problem before, because the vast population compensated for the losses. After the winter of 1999, however, the population of garter snakes was dangerously low, causing Manitoba Hydro and volunteers to intervene.

Foot-high snow fences were built to force snakes into six-inch (15-cm) tunnels that went under Highway 17. Since some snakes still managed to squeeze under the fence and onto the road, signs were put up during the migratory season urging motorists to slow down to avoid accidentally driving over snakes. These measures worked, and now fewer than 1000 snakes per season are killed on the highway.

Visiting

The conservation area is open to the public. The snakes are most active during the spring and fall, in late April to early May, which is the mating season, and also in early September, when the snakes slither back down to their winter dens.^[1]

References

↑ "Agriculture and Resource Development | Province of Manitoba". www.gov.mb.ca.

External links

Protected areas of Manitoba
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National parks	Riding Mountain Wapusk
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Provincial forests	Agassiz Belair Brightstone Sand Hill Cat Hills Cormorant Duck Mountain Moose Creek Northwest Angle Porcupine Sandilands Spruce Woods Swan-Pelican Turtle Mountain Wampum Whiteshell
Ecological reserves	Armit Meadows Baralzon Lake Birch River Brokenhead River Brokenhead Wetland Cedar Bog Cowan Bog Holmgren Pines Jennifer and Tom Shay Kaweenakumik Islands Lake St. George Caves Lake Winnipegosis Salt Flats Lewis Bog Libau Bog Little George Island Long Point Palsa Hazel Pelican Islands Piney Pocock Lake Red Rock Reindeer Island Ste. Anne Bog St. Labre Bog Walter Cook Caves Wampum Whitemouth Bog Whitemouth Island Whitemouth River Woodridge
Wildlife management areas	Alonsa Assiniboine Corridor Basket Lake Bernice Brandon Hills Broad Valley Broomhill C. Stewart Stevenson Catfish Creek Cayer Churchill Delta Marsh Deerwood Dog Lake Ebor Gerald W. Malaher Grant's Lake Gypsumville Harrison Hilbre Holmfield Kasatamagan Sipi Kasatamagan Lake Francis Langruth Lauder Sandhills Lee Lake Lee River Little Birch Little Saskatchewan Manatagao Maple Lake Mars Hill Marshy Point Moose Creek Narcisse Oak Hammock Marsh Observation Point Oranole Otter Lake Parkland Pembina Valley Penonan Point Pierson Point River Portage Sandhills Proven Lake Proulx Lake Rat River Red Deer Riverside Saskeram Sleeve Lake Souris River Bend Spruce Woods Spur Woods St. Malo Steeprock Stuartburn Thalberg Bush Tiger Hills Tom Lamb Turtle Mountain Upper Assiniboine Wakopa Washow Bay Watson P. Davidson Weiden Wellington Westlake Whitemouth Bog Whitemud Watershed Whitewater Lake
UNESCO World Biosphere Reserves	Riding Mountain Pimachiowin Aki
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Other	International Peace Garden Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve Morden Research Station
Category Conservation Districts Parks Canada Commons

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Conservation

Visiting

See also

References

External links