Good Snake Hunting
This entry was posted on 9/2/2009 6:30 PM and is filed under uncategorized.
The other night when I was putting the young turkeys in the coop for the night I nearly stumbled upon a King snake hunting. I had seen this snake before - about 3 feet long and brilliant with its sharp black and white stripes. That night it was in the coopls investigating each mouse hole - looking for a meal. I had the opportunity to watch it hunt and see how it investigated every place a mouse could hide.
My turkeys will attack and kill a rattlesnake when they see one. Just the sight of a rattlesnake elicits sharp alarm calls from the hens and immediate action. But the King snake was accepted - no alarm calls and no attacks. Do the turkeys know its no threat? Is there something about its color pattern - which looks so close to the color pattern of a male Narragansett's flight feathers - that lets them know this snake is okay?
Just one of those animal mysteries.
