Black Rat Snake...sort of...

Well last weekend I took off to eastern Ontario in search of the elusive Black Rat Snake*.  Having only a day and a half to find one, I (and my intrepid co-herper) searched intensively.  We were very nearly skunked, and found only one individual hiding in a crack in an old timber building.  Hardly even counts as a sighting!  Here is the best look we got:

Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta**)

Fortunately, the weekend was not a total bust, as we did find a few other herps.

Red-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens)

Red-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens)

Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon)

That's all for now!

Kyle

*The powers-that-be would have you call this a Grey Rat Snake.  Until they can show me a grey one in Ontario they can bite me.
**The same powers would have you use any number of latin names (depending on which week you ask in).