Ensatinas and British Columbia?

[Kyle Barker]

i have talked to a few people with similar interests of this site, some naturalists and a coupel people at the universities...but nothing is realyl clear. or maybe im too thick, either way i need help.

i am looking to get some pictures of ensatinas in BC, preferably on vancouver island. i spent teh day today in the hills between shawnigan/cowichan lake looking. i went chanterelle picking this fall and thought it would be the IDEAL spot for them! so i have been back a few times to search, nothing. i have looked all around teh mountaisn here for the past 3 years in all seasons and cant find a thing.

i can cheat and go somewhere else in bc, but i would want to find them in bc.

any help at all would be great. or even jsut some people that i could contact would be cool too :)

thanks for any help!

[Jeff_Favelle]

Dude, that is the ONE herp on VI that has eluded me. If I knew, I'd tell ya!

[Don Patterson]

rumor has it to look at night road cruising in the "highlands"
they still elude me as well.

[Kyle Barker]

interesting, thanks! ill spend next weekend out in the highlands checking the roads and looking in the forests.

do you think they would be in the dry rocky areas there? probably not eh? maybe now that its wet (winter)? im geussing probabyl in the more forested parts?

[Don Patterson]

go out the first warmer rainy nights, have been told you cant miss. around johns house, ask tyrell what road he lived on. good luck man

[Kyle Barker]

awsome thanks man :) it just snowed here...it may be a few more weeks :D

[Fieldnotes]

UIf you cheat, you will only cheat yourself. I would go to an area that is forest and not exposed to freezing winter tempratures. Here in USA, the Ensatinas are most common in shaded forest regions. Areas with dense trees. You may have to think of warmer situation, herps areas of open meadows with woody debris; edge forest habitat. Also, if you keep searching, you may surprise everyone and discover a new locality for that species in Canada.

Will

[munchy]

almost 100% positive i found two ensatinas on sumas mountain. found them on the ground slightly burried in the dirt/under pieces of bark..

[Kyle Barker]

i look every time i hike. i piss my friends off everytime cause im always stoppign and lookign under crap.

dont suppose tehy care what types of trees? conifer frests here are far denser but not so much in trees. older forests here tend to be trees everytwhere and duff. not too much bush. younger forests usually have moss/salel and lots of debris (usually regrown clearcuts). i would assume the latter would be better? are there any thigns that they are known not to live around? tree species, water tpyes or somthing? the stuff ive read they dont seem to picky really....jsut live a more secrative life style.