A total of 167 federally threatened eastern indigo snakes have now been released in northern Florida in an effort to rebuild the population.
The snakes have been released over the past 8 years at the Nature Conservancy’s Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve in Liberty County as part of an effort to return the native, nonvenomous apex predator to the region.
41 of the snakes were released on Monday, 21 females and 20 males.
The snakes were bred and hatched by the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens’ Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation, the world's foremost conservation organization dedicated to the captive propagation and reintroduction of the eastern indigo snake.
The snakes were then raised with help from the Welaka National Fish Hatchery for approximately two years before release.
The snakes have been implanted with radio transmitters so they can be tracked and monitored.
The eastern indigo snake has been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1978.
The indigo can grow to be between 8 and 9 feet long, and is the longest native snake in the U.S.
The indigo was largely eliminated from northern Florida due to habitat loss and fragmentation - the species was last seen in the Liberty County preserve in 1982.
The eastern indigo serves a critical function to balance the wildlife community – it consumes a variety of small animals including both venomous and nonvenomous snakes.
The snakes have been released over the past 8 years at the Nature Conservancy’s Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve in Liberty County as part of an effort to return the native, nonvenomous apex predator to the region.
41 of the snakes were released on Monday, 21 females and 20 males.
The snakes were bred and hatched by the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens’ Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation, the world's foremost conservation organization dedicated to the captive propagation and reintroduction of the eastern indigo snake.
The snakes were then raised with help from the Welaka National Fish Hatchery for approximately two years before release.
The snakes have been implanted with radio transmitters so they can be tracked and monitored.
The eastern indigo snake has been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1978.
The indigo can grow to be between 8 and 9 feet long, and is the longest native snake in the U.S.
The indigo was largely eliminated from northern Florida due to habitat loss and fragmentation - the species was last seen in the Liberty County preserve in 1982.
The eastern indigo serves a critical function to balance the wildlife community – it consumes a variety of small animals including both venomous and nonvenomous snakes.
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