A group of Southern California conservation workers came across an “astonishingly” large Kingsnake in a canyon.
How big, you ask? Well, think seven feet worth of snake. This favorite pet snake usually only grows two to 3.5 feet long. Many reptile fanatics note they don’t grow larger than four feet.
But not this bad boy. Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority workers found him in the Liberty Canyon of Agoura Hills. The area is an hour, 15-minute drive west of Los Angeles and just north of Malibu.
Volunteer Finds Snake Near A Road
Alberto Silva was inspecting a restoration site near planted oak trees when he stumbled across the snake. The kingsnake was moving towards a busy road.
The MRCA said Silva “feared this long snake may not be able to avoid vehicles,” so he got a large branch to “safely life and gently move the snake back to the planted area.”
Spokeswoman Dash Stolarz said her group felt “astonished” by the long kingsnake. She told USA Today that the crew had spotted a “more averaged-sized” kingsnake in the same area near the Ventura Freeway.
Pro snake wrangler Bo Slyapich headed to the Agoura Hills area in a June Spectrum News report. Last year, the man’s business took off as many Los Angeles residents sought him for help.
Slyapich, who hates spiders, said snakes prefer a temperature of 80 degrees. In the story, the man told a resident if he came across a king snake, he shouldn’t kill it, but rather “put a leash on it and let it stay in your backyard.”
King of The Kingsnakes?
These particular snakes are common in this part of the United States and northern Mexico.
Silva and others know the reptile with the white or cream-colored rings. However, color patterns can vary from snake to snake. Some versions of the kingsnake, like the getula kingsnake, can grow to almost seven feet.
Are you scared of a seven-foot-long Kingsnake? Well, it’s not venomous. They’re just constrictors. Typically, the smaller version of the snake goes after rodents, frogs, lizards, and other snakes, including venomous rattlesnakes.
Maybe Liberty Canyon is just a kingsnake paradise. Or perhaps some pet owner just raised him right.
Lots of Effort Going Into Liberty Canyon A Conservation Area
According to USA Today, the natural area will soon become the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. It will connect the Simi Hills to the Santa Monica Mountains through a 210-foot vegetated overpass that will span the Ventura Freeway.
With the overpass coming by the end of next year, many say it will become the most extensive urban wildlife crossing of its kind and benefit mountain lions and other critters. That is if the hulking snakes don’t mess up the ecosystem.
The MRCA joked on Facebook that they “we’re going to need a bigger wildlife crossing” after Silva’s snake find.
