TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A group of conservationists on Friday hauled almost a couple dozen eastern indigo snakes back to their native habitats in North Florida.
For the eighth straight year, the Nature Conservancy in Florida, with the help of the Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation and others, returned 41 indigo snakes to its Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve, the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens said.
The sandhill habitats of the reserve are familiar to the non-venomous apex predator, which haven’t been in the region in years due to “habitat loss and fragmentation,” the organization said. The reserve is the only designated place in Florida for the species’ reintroduction.
Among the snakes released were 20 female and 21 male snakes bred and hatched two years ago. They were raised at the Central Florida Zoo until they were ready for release.
“It’s exciting that the indigos are now successfully reproducing on their own,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recovery biologist Michele Elmore said in a statement. “With increasing numbers of snakes released over time and successful reproduction, the indigo is gaining momentum to return to the landscape where it belongs.”
A total of 167 eastern indigo snakes have been released to the reserve in the program’s history. The native species is considered a threatened species by the Federal Endangered Species Act.
