Manitoba is currently hosting the world’s largest gathering of snakes, with tens of thousands of garter snakes coming out of hibernation in Narcisse. This annual spectacle typically occurs in late April when the weather becomes warm enough for the snakes to leave their winter dens in Manitoba’s Interlake region and engage in mating activities.
This year, the emergence was delayed due to cooler temperatures in the spring. Recently, the province announced that there was a significant number of snakes, allowing interested individuals to observe this natural phenomenon.
According to retired biologist Doug Collicutt, male snakes come out early to wait for the females. Once the females emerge, the males swarm around them, leading to mating interactions. Visitors have the opportunity to witness large groups of snakes gathered in “mating balls.”
Collicutt explained that the snakes require warm temperatures to emerge from the ground, and the lack of rainfall can impact their behavior. Rainfall helps warm the ground, facilitating the snakes’ emergence.
During a recent visit, approximately 100 people were walking along the trail connecting the snake dens. Twelve-year-old Liam Warren, who counted 59 snakes, noted that the cooler weather had led to fewer snake sightings than expected.
Veronique Simard, who had longed to visit the snake dens, expressed her satisfaction with the trip, stating that her children were delighted. The emergence period lasts about a month before the snakes disperse to their summer feeding grounds.
Raelene Sawatzky-Dyck, a nursery snake interpreter, mentioned that the snakes eventually disperse to their summer feeding areas, where they consume various prey items such as leeches, insects, and occasionally young birds.
By early September, the snakes return to their dens as cooler fall weather approaches. It is believed that the snakes return to the same dens each year, though studying their behavior in these small underground spaces poses challenges.
Ten-year-old Aiden Schmidt shared his positive experience of seeing the snakes gathered together, finding them fascinating and admiring their scales.
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