They are beautiful. Absolutely the coolest looking of the Garter Snakes.

Am I mistaken or were these once considered a threatened species? I remember when I was a kid back in the very early 70's I would go to 7/11 which is a convenience store in the Midwest. The sold Slurpies (slush drinks) and the plastic cups were all endangered species. I could have sworn the red sided garter was on one of the cups.