Saskatchewan Landing bulls *pics*

Vanan · 07-09-04, 06:43 PM

These were the bulls we found at Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park. All four seemed like females (2 were gravid) and seemed to have a more consistent "look" than our local (Leader) bulls.

<img src="http://img55.photobucket.com/albums/v167/Vanan/Snakes/SKlandingbull1a.jpg">
1st bull we found while biking 2 campsites away from our own. Took me by surprise when I saw her shape sprawled along the middle of the road, soaking up the sun's rays at mid-day.

<img src="http://img55.photobucket.com/albums/v167/Vanan/Snakes/SKlandingbull2a.jpg">
This 2nd one almost went noticed as I was biking down the road. Only reason I noticed her was because of the rustling of the grass as she sprung into her defensive posture, obviously p-ed off at the brown guy in his bike, speeding past her.

<img src="http://img55.photobucket.com/albums/v167/Vanan/Snakes/SKlandingbull4a.jpg">
This muddy looking (probably in her pre-lay shed) gravid female was found next to a hole (we believe to be their dens) when it started getting cloudy. Coiled up nice and snug soaking up the warmth. Dunno what went wrong with her, but she didn't seem in good condition. She had an abscess at her cloaca (notice the reddish area at her cloacal region) and, though gravid, looked skinnier. She wasn't a very big bull either.

<img src="http://img55.photobucket.com/albums/v167/Vanan/Snakes/SKlandingbull4b.jpg">
2nd pic of "muddy" bull.

<img src="http://img55.photobucket.com/albums/v167/Vanan/Snakes/SKlandingbull3a.jpg">
This gravid female has to be one of the best looking bulls I've seen in the wild. It could also be that she just had her pre-lay shed and just looks so vibrant from it. We found her just after we were wondering why the 3 bulls we found were smaller than other bulls we've seen. This female showed us up.

<img src="http://img55.photobucket.com/albums/v167/Vanan/Snakes/SKlandingbull3b.jpg">
We measured her against Katt's height as we estimated her to me an inch or two shy from 5ft. A nice sized female.

Oliverian · 07-09-04, 06:49 PM

Awesome! Looks like you guys had a killer time! They sure seem to have a lot of red in them eh?

-TammyR

Simon · 07-09-04, 08:37 PM

Great find~

and finding gravid females out there are always an extra bonus~
I love seeing gravid wc snakes~

Vanan · 07-09-04, 08:57 PM

Quote:

We measured her against Katt's height as we estimated her to me an inch or two shy from 5ft. A nice sized female.

I just realised how bad that sounds!

Tammy, we had a blast! Was nice to finally have a break from the usual rigmarole of life. 3 days of the outdoors does good for one's mental health. As for redness, those bulls were probably the least red bulls I've seen here. I've posted pics of bulls found in our area which were redder. Not to mention my red phase male too.

Simon, it was awesome finding almost all the females gravid! Makes me feel good that they're doing so well here. Cept for that abscessed one. Wonder what went wrong with her.

Scales Zoo · 07-09-04, 09:13 PM

Those are nice bulls, and nice pictures of them. I like the blackness of that ones tail blotches.

Ryan

Oliverian · 07-09-04, 09:53 PM

Bah, the fourth one looks pretty red to me! Compared to Mr. Nosey at least.

It's good to get out and about once in a while. I've been up herping three times in the last week, really does you good!

Beautiful snakes though. Katt's not bad either!

-TammyR

Jungle Jen · 07-09-04, 10:21 PM

I like that last bull. I'm still waiting to see if Vanan has any red bulls he would like to part with from the clutch he has/had. Looks like you guys had a great time camping. I wish I coulda come along! You alwyas seem to find cool things while herping.

Vanan · 07-09-04, 10:35 PM

Sorry Jen, but if you've followed some of my posts, you'd have known that I lost the female who was to have the clutch from my red male. She died, full of eggs. *sigh*