Snake Road will close next week for annual reptile, amphibian migration

[tttaylorrr]

in southern illinois there's a place called Shawnee National Forest, which is home to a lot of threatened and endangered species of snakes and amphibians! every year, LaRue Road (or Snake Road) gets closed to vehicles — but remains open to foot traffic — for 2 months so all the animals can migrate to a nearby swamp in peace. people come from all over to walk the road and see all the rare animals come out from the cold, and it's really cool! i wanna see if i can go!

"The gradual, two-month migration attracts people from across the country eager to witness the rich diversity of reptile and amphibian species along this single stretch of road. About 66 percent of the amphibians and 59 percent of the reptiles known to occur in Illinois are found here."
...
"Snakes and amphibians migrate from the bluffs to the wetlands for the spring and summer,” said Paul Widowski, a wildlife biologist with Shawnee National Forest. “Cottonmouths are the most common snake that can be seen during this migration."

the article is really interesting and has a lot of cool photos of animals that you can see during the migration! here's a sampling:







link to the article: http://thesouthern.com/news/local/en...1b87b0cd3.html

[Phillydubs]

Wow that’s super cool thanks for sharing. I wish I was closer. My have to add this to the bucket list though!

[Ax01]

Why did the BP cross the road?

[Craiga 01453]

Why did the BP cross the road?

The rat was on the other side?

[Ax01]

Why did the BP cross the road?

The rat was on the other side?

to get to the other hide!

[Craiga 01453]

Thanks for sharing, tttaylorrr! I actually just read an article about that the other day. That's some amazing stuff. Might have to add that to the bucket list too.

- - - Updated - - -

to get to the other hide!

How did I not get that?!?!?!?

[tttaylorrr]

Why did the BP cross the road?

to get to the other hide!

hahahahaha, such a cute joke!!! i can't believe i hadn't heard it before!

[Ax01]

Why did the BP cross the road?

to get to the other hide!

hahahahaha, such a cute joke!!! i can't believe i hadn't heard it before!

that's b/c it's an Ax original.


Edit: anyway this is really neat. i would totally go if i were within driving distance. i would hike back and forth on this road and post it on a lawnchair when i get tired. if it were warm u could wear shorts and teva's or birkenstocks. i would also bring a broom to chase away predators lol. i would help them across the road if i could like how some peeps help lil baby sea turtles reach the ocean waves.

[Craiga 01453]

that's b/c it's an Ax original.


Edit: anyway this is really neat. i would totally go if i were within driving distance. i would hike back and forth on this road and post it on a lawnchair when i get tired. if it were warm u could wear shorts and teva's or birkenstocks. i would also bring a broom to chase away predators lol. i would help them across the road if i could like how some peeps help lil baby sea turtles reach the ocean waves.

If I ever hit the lotto real big, like stupid money big, I'll sponsor an outing for my BP.net friends.

[Ax01]

that's b/c it's an Ax original.


Edit: anyway this is really neat. i would totally go if i were within driving distance. i would hike back and forth on this road and post it on a lawnchair when i get tired. if it were warm u could wear shorts and teva's or birkenstocks. i would also bring a broom to chase away predators lol. i would help them across the road if i could like how some peeps help lil baby sea turtles reach the ocean waves.

If I ever hit the lotto real big, like stupid money big, I'll sponsor an outing for my BP.net friends.

and buy a animal sanctuary in FL, a franchise Petco/Petsmart, jetskis and a snowmobile too!