These snakes are actually a fine friend to
the farmer since each snake accounts for the death of many rodents each
year. Their presence certainly was of definite value in decreasing the
number at my farm. Bull snakes have the long body typical of
constrictors, sometimes reaching a length of nearly six feet at
maturity, and being at the most an inch and one-half in diameter. This
country had a natural abundance of such snakes at one time but ignorance
and superstition have lessened their number so that it is now a rare
thing to find one. During the early days of automobiles, these huge bull
snakes, or gopher snakes, as I prefer to call them, would lie across the
sunny, dusty roads, and drivers of cars delighted in running them down.
Since they are very docile, they are the least afraid of man of any
members of the local snake family. They are slow in movement until they
sense the immediate presence of their natural food, which is live mice,
rats, gophers, squirrels, young rabbits, and sometimes, though rarely,
birds. Then it is they become alert, and the horny appendage on their
tails vibrates with a high-pitched, buzzing sound, simulating, although
not similar to, the sound of a poisonous rattlesnake.
Pages:
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144