SCCF project studying rare Eastern indigos snake
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s Pine Island Sound Eastern Indigo Snake Project began researching the species in 2012 on several islands near Sanibel, although it is a challenge because Sanibel is not an optimal place for the federally-threatened snake due to modern infrastructure design and traffic, officials reported. The docile snakes breed and move around the most during the winter, when the island’s roads are busy.
Eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi) are considered the longest native snake found in the United States — the record was just over 9 feet — though the average is typically 5 feet to 6.5 feet. The genus “Drymarchon” literally means “ruler of the forest” because of their size and their proclivity to eat other snakes, even venomous snakes.
“Despite their dominance over other snakes, they have the reputation for being amenable toward human beings and seem to not have much fear of people,” SCCF Wildlife & Habitat Management Director Chris Lechowicz said.
The snakes have been protected from harassment or taking in Florida since 1971 and were listed as a threatened — and protected — species by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 1978. Several agencies are looking for information on the person who recently killed one in Georgia.
The last verified wild indigo snake on Sanibel was run over by a bicycle in 1999. Lechowicz reported that Sanibel is not suitable for indigos because of heavy seasonal traffic on busy roadways, such as Sanibel-Captiva Road, Periwinkle Way and even Tarpon Bay Road.
“These are serious obstacles for these large snakes to traverse multiple times a day,” he said. “One by one, they were struck by vehicles over several decades until the populations could no longer sustain themselves.”
The west end of the island is the most suitable place, and restoring the population requires elevating Sanibel-Captiva Road or putting up barriers on both sides to create eco-passages in several locations to allow wildlife to cross back and forth.
The most common snake on Sanibel and in South Florida, the Southern black racer is often mistaken for Eastern indigo snakes simply because they are black. However, the average size of the black racer on the islands is 2.5 feet to 3.5 feet, and they are much thinner than indigos. Black racers are more nervous and less tolerant of human interference and will dart at the first opportunity.
If you see an Eastern indigo snake in the area, take a picture and email it to indigo@sccf.org.