May's Animal Profile- The Northern Pine Snake

Northern Pine Snake displaying defensive posture. (Photo courtesy of Will Bird)

Snakes have inspired many a chill on the back of the neck, or a scream from a surprised man or woman and people have over time developed an ingrained fear of these slithery creatures. However, snakes are very beneficial to the ecosystem and to humans by consuming rodents and other pests that plague our daily lives.

The Northern Pine Snake (Pituophis melanoleucus) is one of the largest snakes that occur in the state of Kentucky. This species averages six feet in length and is capable of attaining lengths of over seven feet.  Often known as the " Yellow Bull Snake" it once occurred throughout the southern portion of the state, but slowly began losing ground. It is now found in three isolated populations within the state of Kentucky, and occurs in exceptionally low numbers. It is an unmistakeable animal. Very few snakes attain as impressive a size as the Northern Pine Snake and even fewer put on a defensive display like the Pine Snake does. When threatened, this snake will engulf large amounts of air to appear larger. It was also exhale and hiss so loudly that you can hear it from quite a distance away. Buzzing its tail in dry leaves and grass gives the illusion that it may be a Rattlesnake. In fact, this snake is killed when encountered often because it is believed to be a large rattlesnake. However, this snake is completely harmless and possesses no venom.

The drastic decline in populations in this state are due to a variety of reasons, however the biggest

The Park Naturalist's Captive KY Northern Pine Snake

negative impact has been a direct result of fire suppression (putting out forest fires). Historically, Kentucky was full of prairies, fields and mature, open forests. Native grasses and prairie plant species abounded all over. Natural fires kept these plants burned back and kept areas from becoming overgrown with bushes, shrubs and plants that would choke the ground. As humans began to make their way west in the 1700s, they began putting out these natural fires to protect their homes from devastation. This was beneficial to humans, but marked the beginning of the end of open forests and grass covered prairies. Northern Pine Snakes depend on this type of habitat to thrive, but over the years this ideal habitat has dwindled away to just a few very isolated pockets.

Nowadays, coming across this type of habitat and this particular snake species is a very rare thing. Only one or two of these animals will pop up in to peoples' view in a year's time and even those diligently searching for it may go years without seeing one. If you see one, John MacGregor at Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife would love to hear about it. You can email him HERE.

I would also love to know about it and you can reach me by emailing me HERE.

You can learn more about this snake, as well as other snakes from the state by visiting this LINK.