Greg Birkett - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual snake
The rarest snake in the United States was born at a zoo in Tennessee this past July. Not only is it considered the rarest snake in the nation, but it is also generally regarded as the rarest in all of North America.
The Memphis Zoo announced that a Louisiana pine snake hatched among 114 other eggs, which was the largest amount of eggs in a season during the zoo’s breeding program.
For the next year, the zoo will take care of the snake and future hatchlings. Then, they will be released into the wild in the spring to help their species bounce back.
The Louisiana pine snake is critically endangered. For four decades, the Memphis Zoo has been working to save the snake from extinction.
“One of the ways we do this is to conduct research which has led to important contributions to the knowledge of the species, including the first published data on its unique reproductive biology and the elevation of the snake to full species status,” the zoo said on its website.
Louisiana pine snakes have a relatively low rate of reproduction, making it difficult for the species to increase their population.
Aside from the Memphis Zoo, several other zoos, like the Audubon Zoo and Fort Worth Zoo, are participating in captive breeding programs. A short clip of the newest addition to the snake family at Memphis Zoo can be seen in a Facebook post.
The Louisiana pine snake lives in the regions of west Louisiana and east Texas. It produces the biggest eggs and hatchlings of any snake in the U.S. It can grow up to five feet in length, and its brown, black, and russet coloration helps it blend into its surroundings.
These reptiles are hardly ever spotted in the wild. They spend most of their time underground and primarily feed on pocket gophers. They also consume other small rodents, amphibians, and eggs from birds that nest on the ground.
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