Losing More Ground for Biodiversity in Pennsylvania?
By
David E. Wilson, Jr.
Photos by: David E. Wilson, Jr
 ately,
I've been hearing some hair-raising tales about snakes in and around
Pennsylvania. Some involve black snakes, others green, hog-nosed,
and water snakes, and still others garter snakes which strike fear
in the hearts of many around the Keystone State.
 hat's
terrifying, however, are not the snakes, but the people who are
taking the liberties of killing them for no apparent reason (other
than the fact that they are snakes). One woman I know recently chased
down a snake with her riding mower. Another 220-pound man clubbed
a black snake to death with a 5-iron, and another broke out his
BB gun for a showdown with his six-ounce victim.
 ne
of the strangest things these folks have told me is that they kill
the animals because they're not sure if they're poisonous. Let's
forget for a moment that killing snakes is illegal and that your
chances of being killed by a snake is several thousand times less
than your chance of being struck by lightening.
ast
year snakes, not associated with charming or religious rituals,
killed less than 200 people worldwide. Meanwhile, people killed
more than one million other people. A driver behind the wheel of
a car is a lot more dangerous than any snake could ever be —
but I rarely see motorists being clubbed to death with 5-irons.
The craziest irony around is a 200-pound man chopping up a snake,
which if left alone, would never come near its assailant.
 side
from their intrinsic value, snakes eat tons of pesty insects and
rodents, and provide food for egrets, herons, hawks, foxes and even
otters. Just as ospreys, turtles and snowy egrets have their place
in nature so does the snake.
 ennsylvania
has a rich biological history which unfortunately includes the human
extirpation of timber wolves, cougars, and buffalo. The desire for
cattle grazing, farmland and food helped lead to their demise. But
could it be that simple fear and cowardice could kill off a new
piece of the state's biodiversity? To not kill snakes may be one
of the easiest things to teach we could ever have dreamed of. The
lesson goes something like — "If you see a snake, don't kill
it."
It seems simple enough to me. . .
Contact Dave Wilson
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