If you find yourself driving in two areas just outside of Edmonton, be on the lookout for some snakes slithering across the roads.
Alberta Parks has issued an advisory for the Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area and Miquelon Lake Provincial Park, located east and southeast of Edmonton, respectively, due to the presence of garter snakes on the roadways.
“Please watch for and avoid the garter snakes on our roadways. Due to migrating back to their local hibernacula, snakes will be crossing and stopping on roads more often during the fall season,” the advisory stated.
KMarsh/Shutterstock
If you spot one (or a few) slithering around in those areas, there’s no reason to fear them — while they may try and bite you if you pick them up, they are not poisonous and have tiny teeth that probably won’t break your skin.
Garter snakes are the most commonly found snake in Alberta, and there are three species that have been sighted nearly everywhere in the province, according to the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM).
The Red-sided garter (Thamnophis sirtalis) has a range that extends to Alberta’s northern border, while the other two species, the Plains garter (Thamnophis radix) and the Wandering garter (Thamnophis elegans), can be found in the southern half of the province.
The RAM says that with human activity in wild spaces increasing, the availability of snake hibernacula is dwindling. If they are disturbed, an entire region can have its snake populations shrink due to a lack of mating and winter temperatures. Since many species of snakes utilize these spaces, they are all at risk if one is destroyed. Because of this, they are protected under the Alberta Wildlife Act, even when not in use.
If you are itching for more snake content, you can slither over to this piece about a spot in Canada with huge snake pits to visit and watch snakes slither.
You can view all current Alberta Parks advisories and public safety notices online.