Giant garter snake
Thamnoptis gigas, or Giant Garter Snake (Fitch, 1940) is the largest of the garter snakes.
It is endemic to the Central Valley wetlands of California. Destruction of wetland habitat has been so widespread that this species is listed as threatened by the state and federal governments. [1] The giant garter snake populations of the San Joaquin Valley are now tiny disconnected remnants. [2]. The giant garter snake has fared better in the Sacramento Valley because rice cultivation and the associated canals have provided habitat [3], when rice land is fallowed, populations seem to then move away from adjacent ditches [4]. In addition to habitat loss and fragmentation, introduced predators like the Bullfrog may also be suppressing recovery[5]. Attempts are underway to restore artificial wetlands to provide quality habitat for the giant garter snake, but it is too early to know if these efforts will significantly aid the recovery of this threatened species.
References
- ^ U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1999. Draft Recovery Plan for the Giant Garter Snake. Portland, Oregon.
- ^ U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1993. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Threatened Status for the Giant Garter Snake. Portland, Oregon.
- ^ U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1999. Draft Recovery Plan for the Giant Garter Snake. Portland, Oregon.
- ^ Wylie, G.D., M.L. Casazza, and L.L. Martin. 2004. Monitoring giant garter snakes in the Natomas Basin: 2003 results. Progress report for The Natomas Basin Conservancy. USGS, BRD Dixon Field Station. 75pp. [Technical Report][1]
- ^ Wylie, G.D., M.L. Casazza, and M. Carpenter. 2003. Diet of bullfrogs in relation to predation on giant garter snakes at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge. California Fish and Game 89(3): 139-145.