In Manitoba’s Narcisse region, the annual gathering of garter snakes, the largest in the world, is currently taking place. Delayed by cooler spring temperatures this year, tens of thousands of snakes are emerging from their winter dens for mating.
Typically occurring at the end of April, the event was postponed this year due to the prolonged cold. Recently, the province announced that the snake population had reached a sufficient number for spectators to witness the spectacle.
As explained by retired biologist Doug Collicutt, male snakes emerge early to wait for the females, forming large mating balls when the females eventually come out. The process is quite a sight for visitors, with some estimating that 70,000 to 100,000 snakes may be present during a spring season.
The emergence of the snakes lasts about a month before they disperse to their summer feeding grounds, where they consume various prey such as leeches, bugs, and occasionally baby birds. The snakes eventually return to their dens around early September as the fall weather sets in.
Despite the cooler weather affecting this year’s snake emergence, visitors are still able to witness this natural phenomenon and appreciate the unique behavior of these cold-blooded creatures.
