7/3/06...
Today was a very exiting day for me, the 13th horridus find of the year couldnt have been better.
The population of horridus is rather secluded on this preserve. Although there are populations streaching throughout Virginia, it seems they are very sperratic, and hard to find...
The past few years have had a very low (zero) reproductive rate on (and around) the preserve, and we have all just had fingers crossed for this year...
A couple weeks ago we spotted a gravid female near one of the rocky peaks of the preserve. This was a very exiting find, and was number 12 for me this year on my list of horridus found on this preserve.
But moving on to today.
I headed a small group up to the peak of the preserve. We checked all the usual spots (for gestgating), with no luck. But while looking over the edge at one cliff, I spotted a gravid female.
Now, while to some this might seem like just horridus number 13 , it actually was a fairly significant find, for me.
As you can tell (from the pics below), this was a fairly young female, and especially because of the reproductive rate in the past, I am 100% sure it was her first year being gravid.
Really, it just shows that if we continue to educate, study, and protect, our efforts will pay off... New spots finding horridus, means more horridus... And it is all the sweeter if they are gravid females...
I had no part in her previous protection, being it that this is my first year a part of this research, but it is a light at the end of a tunnel. I look foward to seeing her have the snakes, and I hope in the years to come I can be a part of thier protection. And one day, just like Marty has done with me, guide another herp enthusiast, and hope they have the same passion I do for these feared creatures. Amaizing thing is, the ENTIRE time we saw her, she didnt even begin to strike.
Its nice to get a break from the horridus killed last week next to the preserve, and all the threads on the rattlesnake round up... Such a breath of fresh air!
Enjoy!
PS, sorry about the shirtless photos. It was very hot, and was a very long hike...
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