A small and harmless endangered garter snake from San Francisco.
Channel: Who are these Animals?
Date: 2021-08-28

Garter snake is a common name for harmless snakes of small and medium size belonging to the genus Thamnophis. Endemic to North and Central America, a species in the genus Thamnophis can be found from the subarctic plains of Canada to Costa Rica.
Did you know that:
1. Garter snakes vary in length from 18 to 54 inches and weigh approximately 5 ounces.
2. Garter snakes live in a wide variety of habitats, including forests, forests, fields, meadows and lawns, but always close to water, often in adjacent wetlands, streams or ponds. This reflects the fact that amphibians make up a significant part of their diet.
3. Garter snakes are often found near small reservoirs with tall weeds.
4. Garter snakes have a complex system of pheromonal communication. They can find other snakes by following their fragrant pheromone tracks.
5. Garter snakes use the coulter-nasal organ to communicate using pheromones, clicking their tongue, which collects chemical signals in the environment. Getting into the lumen of the organ, chemical molecules come into contact with sensory cells that are attached to the sensorineural epithelium of the vomeronasal organ. 
6. If the garter snake is disturbed, it can curl up and hit, but usually it hides its head and flaps its tail.
7. Garter snakes, like all snakes, are carnivorous. Their diet includes almost any creatures that they are able to cope with: slugs , earthworms, leeches , lizards, amphibians (including frog eggs), minnows and rodents.
8. For a long time it was believed that garter snakes are not poisonous, but discoveries in the early 2000s showed that they really produce neurotoxic venom. Despite this, garter snakes cannot seriously injure or kill people with the small amount of relatively mild venom they produce, and they also do not have effective means of delivering it. 
9. Despite the decline in their population due to collection as pets, garter snakes are still one of the most common predators. However, the San Francisco garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia), has been on the endangered species list since 1969.

Don't miss my channel about games: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQpBVwfnUm_QmriJlec_E1w

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtQbS6Z9yBo