Snakes on a lane

Author: Lisa Zaval

Numerous Ridgeline sightings and several road-kill specimens have led some students to speculate that the population of Middlebury garter snakes is on the rise. While no recent scientific data has been analyzed or even collected, many students posit that the population of these harmless, yet slithery creatures has escalated since last year.

"There have been an inordinate number of snakes on campus this year, all of which have been, unfortunately, deceased," said Ashley Clark '07.

College Research Herpetologist Jim Andrews said he had not noticed any more garter snakes than usual on campus this fall, but explained that this year has been a good production year for the snakes at some of his monitoring sites in other areas of Vermont.

"If the snakes that people are seeing are much longer than [200 mm], they have been around for at least a full year and they probably reflect the mild winter conditions of last year," said Andrews.

The majority of dead snake sightings have occurred near Ridgeline and other forested areas across campus. Assistant Professor of Political Science Bert Johnson claims to have encountered three to four dead snakes during his runs along Creek Road.

"On an average Saturday morning run, I'll see three or four," said Johnson. "But when it rains there are more - as if they crawl to the road, gasping for breath, only to be crushed. I suppose it's possible that I'm seeing the same snakes over and over again, but they all look pretty fresh to me."

The garter snake, or garden snake, is the single most widely distributed species of reptile in North America. Their primary diet includes almost anything they are capable of overpowering, including mice, frogs, salamanders, fish, earthworms and insects. The garter snake is considered harmless to humans and, if disturbed, will typically hide its head and flail its tail about.

Whether it is the critter's reputation as the personification of evil, or just irrational fear, the sudden influx of garter snakes has some students concerned.

"They scare me and I want them gone," said Myra Palmero '07.

But other, less timid individuals have embraced the company of these elongated reptiles.

"I see no harm in a few more snakes wandering the sidewalks with us," said Meg Young '07. "They'll give the squirrels a run for their money. Nothing like a little evolutionary roulette to start the day off right."

It has not yet been verified whether or not the creatures are capable of squirrel consumption, though such a feat could possibly remedy another campus-wide infestation problem.

One intriguing theory used to explain the onslaught of these limbless creatures stems from the recent Samuel L. Jackson film featuring snakes on a passenger aircraft. While apparent tire marks might suggest otherwise, it is possible that the flattened corpses lining Ridgeline are the result of snakes falling 30,000 feet from the air and landing onto our very own college campus.

On whether the Middlebury snake phenomenon might be linked to the film, Johnson speculated, "As a social scientist who has done a lot of thinking about causal inference, I can say without a doubt that there must be a connection."