California Mountain Kingsnake

California Mountain Kingsnake
Originally uploaded by Corbie.

I had a genuine snake-geek moment this week when I overturned a large piece of wood and found this wonderful little California Mountain Kingsnake, the first of its kind I'd seen near work. It was only about five feet away from a young Western Rattlesnake hiding under an old, rusted barrel.
I had taken four campers (all boys) up to see the Rattlesnake, expecting it to be there because it had been hiding under the barrel all week, preparing to shed (sort of like the Rattlesnake who dutifully stayed under a nearby board for nearly a month earlier in the season - I love it when they do that because it makes it so simple to find them). Being me, I always check under the other nearby hiding places, and there's nothing quite like turning over a log and finding a snake like this. In addition to being beautiful, it was quite docile and didn't musk, bite, or show any other signs of agitation when picked up. For the boys (fellow reptile geeks all) it instantly became the highlight of their week. I even took it down to camp to show more people, something that I usually don't do. Later, I sneaked up and put it back under its log.

This is only the third Mountain Kingsnake I've come across in thirty or so years of snake finding, and the most beautiful of the three. I've never really lost that sense or wonder I felt as a child when finding a snake. The only real difference is that now I just take pictures instead of taking the poor thing home and putting it in a cage.

There have been a couple of other sightings nearby in the last few weeks, so hopefully we'll be seeing more of these around the park and along the trails in the future. Snakes like this are becoming less common due to habitat destruction (mansions in the hills, attacks by attendant dogs and cats) and probably from people who find them and take them home like I once did. It's not an endangered species like the Alameda Whipsnake or the San Francisco Garter Snake (both Bay Area natives), but if we're not careful, it could be. Let's not let this happen.