Once threatened, now on the rebound! |
I met with Kristin Stanford (The Snake Lady) in her newly renovated lab.
Renovated lab for snake research |
The Lake Erie Water Snake (LEWS) was classified as threatened -- and almost made the endangered list -- back in the late 1990s. At one time it was estimated that fewer than 2,000 of these snakes were living on the Lake Erie Islands.
The "Snake Lady" Kristen Stanford |
The population of the LEWS has rebounded to over 10,000 on the islands. Conservation and education efforts have helped restore their numbers. The round gobi, an invasive species of fish, has also helped the snakes...by coming over for dinner.
Do we owe the round goby our gratitude? |
The LEWS no longer has to search far for a meal!
Round Goby -- it's what's for dinner! |
Snake tag (implanted under the skin) |
Work with the LEWS is ongoing. The process of gathering and tagging the snakes was featured on an episode of Dirty Jobs.
Learn more HERE.
Learn more HERE.
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