Local bullsnakes *pics*

Vanan · 09-28-03, 07:32 PM

Just a few shots of a some bullsnakes we've found in the area during denning season aka Fall.

Interesting how the locality looks.

Couple of bulls we managed to retrieve, which herping today, before they ran down to their dens.
<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/137bull3a1.jpg">

Closeup of the one above.
<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/137bull3c1.jpg">

Here's a nice reddish brown one we found.
<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/137bull4a.jpg">

<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/137bull4b.jpg">

Some previously posted pics of Saskatchewan bulls.

<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/196bull2.jpg">

<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/196bull1.jpg">

enso · 09-28-03, 07:39 PM

Nice snakes and pics Vanan. Good finds. Where was the hissing, the biting, the tail rattling!?!?! =P

KingFfaj · 09-28-03, 07:41 PM

cool pics

they look quite like gopher snakes dont they. P.m.affinis

Vanan · 09-28-03, 09:29 PM

Enso, much to me amazement, the only bull snake which was hissing up a storm was the one in the last photo. But all the rest we've found have been amazingly tame. Not even tail rattling. Maybe the cooler weather now has something to do with it.

KingFfaj, they can look pretty similar to P. m. affinis or P. m. annectens. Although given the locality here, there are no gophersnakes only bulls.

Also the Canadian bullsnakes tend to have a distinct looking head which is atypical of most southern populations. The Alberta bullsnakes have a wide and pointy head. Like a wedge shape. I should post some pics of the head shape differences. Well once my Indiana locale bulls recover from their mouth rot, maybe.

Scales Zoo · 09-28-03, 09:49 PM

It seems like the bullsnakes are the loudest in the spring, then by fall tame down. I think the ones we found today have been cool for a long time, and that is why they were so "tame". They were as nice as the one we bring out to shows to let the kids touch.

In really early spring, their hiss sounds more like a rattlesnake rattling it's tail, than the rattlesnakes sound in the spring (the mud from winter might possibly be the cause for the rattlesnakes not sounding like they usually do). I am not sure why the bullsnake sounds more rattlery (new word) in early spring - but they seem to come out of the dens mad at the world.

The rattlesnakes on the other hand, seem more docile and care free in early spring, than they do at later parts of the year.

Oh, and Vanan, the bullsnakes don't "run down their dens".

Bullsnakes, like other colubrids, lack legs - the basic necessity for running.

jay76 · 09-28-03, 09:58 PM

You must have had loads of fun, Vanan! The last one does look rather feisty

Katt · 09-28-03, 10:04 PM

There's nothing like seeing bulls in the wild, especially ones that go and attack your truck.

Scales Zoo · 09-28-03, 10:34 PM

Yeah, as soon as we left the vehicles, a bunch of black angus cows came and stood around the truck.

I tried to make Vanan scared of the cows, and then I told him the bull was there.

This big hereford bull was standing by my truck.

A few minutes later, I heard a noise that I didn't like, and I saw the bull doing something to my truck.

Sheila and I ran up the river hills, I nearly had a heart attack, and chased the bull and cows away from the truck (and Vanans new car).

Next time I go attempt to play rodeo clown, I'll give Sheila the video camera for future Real TV viewing, and bring Vanan to get up close and personal with some old bulls during breeding season.

Ryan

CDN-Cresties · 09-28-03, 10:50 PM

Awesome pics man!!!

-Steve-

TheRedDragon · 09-29-03, 05:43 PM

Very cool pics Vanan. Those bulls sure like showing their attitude don't they? *L*

Vanan · 09-29-03, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Oh, and Vanan, the bullsnakes don't "run down their dens".

Ooops sorry! They hopped like grasshopper mice down their holes.

Quote:

I tried to make Vanan scared of the cows, and then I told him the bull was there.

Funny. Damn things were freaky when they first came out man! One came running at me while "howling" at the same time!

Quote:

I'll give Sheila the video camera for future Real TV viewing, and bring Vanan to get up close and personal with some old bulls during breeding season.

Hey I told ya, I love bulls! :medangry:

Clownfishie · 09-29-03, 07:28 PM

Great pics guys!

Thanks for sharing...

crimsonking · 09-30-03, 12:08 PM

Vanan, you're killing me! Those pits are really nice. I think I'm most impressed with just how healthy they look. What would you guess the age of a 5'er to be up there? The reddish one is a beautiful animal. Are the winters there comparably "mild/short"? Being from FL., my idea of Canada is COLD, so it suprises me sometimes to see such magnificent snakes up there. I'll have to check them out in person someday. Thanks for sharing the pics.
:Mark

vanderkm · 09-30-03, 12:21 PM

Great photos - gorgeous bullsnakes - nice to see some from the field,

mary v.

Scales Zoo · 09-30-03, 06:20 PM

Crimson King.

I'm not trying to answer the question before Vanan gets the chance, but since he has only lived here for a couple of months, I thought I'd share some information from things I've seen, and things I've been told by others who study the native snakes.

First, I've never seen a baby bullsnake in the wild in my life. The smallest ones I see are over 2' long. Bullsnakes lay their eggs away from the densite, and the babies don't come back until the fall of the next year.

So, I assume I'm seeing yearlings. Even though summers are short, I've read they can breed in their second year. These snakes seem to be 4-5' long.

The largest bullsnake I know of documented in Canada was still less than 7' long (Jonathan Wright. He also found one nearly 10 lbs)

I've found bullsnakes over 6' - but they are very rare (I think I've found 3 or 4 over the 6' mark)

Bullsnakes have been found with gophers (actually they are squirrrels), young rabbits, and burrowing owls in their bellies. Some of these food items are more than 1lb.

When given food, and the ability to get really warm (I've measured bullsnake skin temperatures at over 100F) they grow quickly.

I do believe they grow more each year in the U.S than in Canada, the record U.S. bullsnake was around 9 feet long.

I know of people who have collected yearlings in Canada, fed them year round, and ended up with bullsnakes well over 7' long. I mention this because I find it interesting. It suggests to me that they may be able to grow as big as their southern counterparts, but possibly do not because they are only "out of the ground" for 6 months of the year.

Ryan