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Project Noah Nature School
Pantherophis obsoletus
This guy was just shy of 6 ft, and when I released him I put him on a tree so I could see him climb. He has a dark back with darker blotches and a lighter belly with a white chin.
Found crossing the road in an oak forest. I took him back and measured, weighed, and marked him then released him that night in the same place he was caught earlier in the day.
Spotted on May 29, 2014
Submitted on Jun 23, 2014
6 Comments
Neat, I never seen a snake climb like that before.
Cool info and nice photos.
Thanks guys! Rat snakes are some of the best climbers of the snakes in the US because of their body shape. Most snakes are round, but rat snakes are shaped like a loaf of bread; having a very flat stomach with rounded back. This allows them to have more of their body able to grip to the tree, allowing them to climb completely vertical surfaces as long as it has some sort of texture they can grip onto :)
So this is how snakes climb trees? Great job Ashley!
That is incredible how it can climb a tree with just its belly scales and sheer muscle.
Except in the movie "Jungle Book" I have never really seen a snake up a tree.