Are there poisonous snakes in the boundary waters? (I think it is too far north?)

What kind of snake is this?

I saw two of them while on the portage trails.

There was also a larger one of these that seemed to live in the rocks around the fire grate of the camp site on Little Shell.

It was kind of freaky and disturbing as it slithered under my legs and straight into the rocks and then hid or ran away when we weren't looking.

Looks like a garter snake.

boonie: "Looks like a garter snake. "

yep, I have seen them grab a frog and boy did that frog let out a scream.almost human like.

Yeah, those are garter snakes. Non-poisonous, no danger to humans. Still scare the crap out of me when one slithers under foot on a portage trail. My vertical leap and falsetto voice have never been better.

Tony

Thanks. I was guessing garter snake but I am no kind of snake expert.

I always gently grab garter snakes. Yeah, they often pee on me, but it's worth it to hold one. I truly love 'em.

There are next to no venomous snakes anywhere in Minnesota, and certainly not in the BWCA. We have an extremely small population of rattlesnakes in the southeastern part of the state, and pretty much that is it. We also have a few snakes that look a bit like rattle snake, but are not. There is no reason at all to walk the north woods and have even the slightest concern about snakes, unless you just find them super creepy.

The garter snake in your photo is harmless. It might snap at you if you try to pick it up or pee on you, but left alone they are no concern.

Cool.
I like those...but they test my reflexes when I see one.

There are rattle snakes and masssasauga snakes in Minnesota but not in the bwca. If you see a snake in the bwca, enjoy the view. They are beautiful reptiles!

Tom

Garter (not "garden") snakes are abundant in the BWCA, and - as with any reptile - a sign of a healthy ecosystem. After the initial startle that they give you, celebrate seeing them. Interesting facts about these snakes: garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) are the most common snake in MN. They average around 14 - 20" inches but can grow longer. They will secrete a very powerful musk scent (which is described by biologists as "cloying" - meaning particularly sickening and strong in its odor) through a special cloacal scent gland. So, if they defecate and / or urinate on you, it will typically have a very strong odor. Makes you and potential predators think "Ugh!". They eat anything they can overcome, and unlike some other species in MN, they are not constrictors. Another interesting feature is their hibernation behavior , which is done in a communal location called a hibernaculum. The demand (and in some provinces and states, the legal collection of a poorly controlled quantity) for these snakes in the pet trade has created pressure on their populations (along with habitat loss and other common causes of spp decline), particularly at the sites of the hibernacula.
So, next time you see the common garter snake in the BWCA, say hey and you betcha! They are an incredible animal.

Had a friend of mine, his parents had a hole at a base of a tree in there yard and every year garter snakes would migrate into it. Sounds like hundreds some years.

Couple weeks ago on Vern Lake my buddy and I were able to watch a Garter Snake catch and slowly swallow a toad. Pretty interesting and a touch cruel as nature can be.









Done, notice the wide spot as the garter snake digests the toad.

Sorry, kind of graphic.

Thanks, Jillpine, that was interesting reading. We have a lot of garters here in Tennessee as well and some studies noted that there was a population increase shortly after a tornado came through. The thought is that there were much less trees for owls, hawks and such to hunt garters and they proliferated.

Yay nature!

I think I posted this picture before. It's a rattlesnake caught in a mouse trap on our back porch. You are lucky you can walk pretty much anywhere without being concerned about stepping on a rattlesnake. Living here in the Sierra foot hills for 45 years, you get used to watching out where you walk. We taught our kids early on how and where to look for snakes. In the morning when its cool they will be laying in the sun. When it gets hot, they will be laying in a shaded area. I have killed 8 so far this year, right around the house and over at my shop. Two right on the back porch!

My granddaughter and I watched the "toad meal" sequence a few years ago when we were at Rockwood Lodge. Gross, but very interesting.

I think my favorite way to see a garter snake in the BWCA is when they are "swimming"? "slithering" ? "sliding" ? across the water.

Saw this (non-venomous) northern watersnake on the Paw Paw river in SW Michigan a few days ago.

Caught these two (threatened) gray ratsnakes um snuggling in the driveway about a week ago. Did you know that male snakes have two...um nevermind.

Gray ratsnakes are good climbers. Pretty impressive for no thumbs.

MHS67: " I think I posted this picture before. It's a rattlesnake caught in a mouse trap on our back porch. You are lucky you can walk pretty much anywhere without being concerned about stepping on a rattlesnake. Living here in the Sierra foot hills for 45 years, you get used to watching out where you walk. We taught our kids early on how and where to look for snakes. In the morning when its cool they will be laying in the sun. When it gets hot, they will be laying in a shaded area. I have killed 8 so far this year, right around the house and over at my shop. Two right on the back porch!"

That is what I like about living in northern Minnesota. No poisonous snakes or worse yet poisonous spiders.

Yep. One thing is for certain, if you get bit and die from a poisonous snake in the Bdub, it will probably be named after you.

King snake crawling up the side of the house!

missmolly: "I always gently grab garter snakes. Yeah, they often pee on me, but it's worth it to hold one. I truly love 'em. "

Ha, ha. I will be happy to observe from afar, only getting as close as my zoom lens allows.

The BW has a brown snake as well. Saw one on the numbered lakes several years ago in a low swampy area near where a closed camp site used to be. Do not know the name of it, but am pretty sure it is not a danger to anyone.

Pinetree: "That is what I like about living in northern Minnesota. No poisonous snakes or worse yet poisonous spiders."

Yep, pretty much anywhere north of Redwing qualifies as "northern MN" as far as snakes go. Spidies???

lindylair: "Couple weeks ago on Vern Lake my buddy and I were able to watch a Garter Snake catch and slowly swallow a toad. Pretty interesting and a touch cruel as nature can be.



















Done, notice the wide spot as the garter snake digests the toad.



sorry, kind of graphic."

That makes Thanksgiving gluttony seem like a puny thing.

rdgbwca: "

missmolly: "I always gently grab garter snakes. Yeah, they often pee on me, but it's worth it to hold one. I truly love 'em. "

Ha, ha. I will be happy to observe from afar, only getting as close as my zoom lens allows."

Try it! You'll like it! Other than the pee, they're as sweet as can be.

Poisonous snakes should not be there and should be very, very rare, but there are insane people relocating Massagua rattle snakes into Algonquin and other places. Just like they dumped untested wolves into Idaho and Washington. Now their deer and elk populations are being destroyed with the parasites and wolf kill they brought in. Hunters there are saying the meat is unedible from the abscesses from infected wolf scat, consumption by herbivores in the grasses.

My vet was telling me she thinks its advanced tape worms where, after a few years of horrible infections, they will burrow out the skin. I was looking into moving out there to raise cattle.

Snakes? Snakes? I don't know no snakes.