Texas Snakes
Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife
Cool autumn temperatures lure many of us from the four walls of our homes into the wide-open spaces of state parks for picnics, hikes and camp outs. When outdoors, remember that snakes are all around us. Whether or not you see them may depend on where you are.
If you’re up in the Panhandle, or north Texas, they’re definitely getting inactive. But, south of San Antonio, and on down into the valley, snakes can be active all year round – although they’ll be less so.
Andy Price is a herpetologist with Parks and Wildlife. Of the seventy five to eighty kinds of snakes we have in Texas, twelve are venomous.
I think the statistics show that there is about one fatality a year in Texas, on average. That doesn’t mean a snake bite isn’t a serious medical situation. But, if you get the proper medical treatment, you’ll survive.
Your best defense is to learn about the snakes in your area… and to keep a respectful distance.
It’s good to be careful about anything that you don’t understand that has a potentially harmful consequence to it, But on the other hand, if you live in Texas, snakes are a given. And it’s incumbent upon you to know something about the environment around you, whether it’s fire ants, Africanized honeybees, or whatever the case may be. And, snakes are not different.
Find suggested reading on snakes at passporttotexas.org.
That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Resources for learning more about Texas snakes:
Texas Snakes: Identification, Distribution, and Natural History (Hardcover), by John E., Werler (Author), James R. Dixon (Author), Regina Levoy (Illustrator) — University of Texas Press.
Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes, Third Edition (Lone Star Guides) (Paperback) by Alan Tennant (Author)
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