How did the snake cross the road? Illinois park officials shut down 3 miles of road for two months due to reptile traffic
Each autumn, a stretch of Illinois’s Shawnee National Forest becomes home thousands of snakes.
For a few weeks each year, roughly 2.7 miles of road are shut down in Illinois’s Shawnee National Forest to protect many people’s worst nightmare: thousands of slithering snakes.
As cold weather both leaves and approaches—between September 1 and October 30, and again every spring from March 15 to May 15—various snake species, including venomous cottonmouths and copperheads, make their way toward or away from hibernation dens. Wildlife officials say that diverting public traffic off the road helps reduce the risk of snakes being run over or people coming into unintended contact with them.
The closures typically occur during the day, often between late September and October, when snake movement is most intense. Signs are also posted to warn drivers to slow down.
Migration gives wildlife lovers a “good chance” of seeing snakes
According to wildlife biologists, the migration is mostly driven by seasonal temperature changes and instinct. The timing, intensity, and exact paths of migration may vary year to year, depending on weather and local conditions.
“Thousands of people each season come here to see it, and just walk,” U.S. Forest Service Wildlife Biologist Mark Vukovich told Belleville News-Democrat, adding that the snakes are “most active in their movement when high temperatures are around 70 to 80 degrees and the low temperatures at night hover in the 50s.”
“The No. 1 snake you’re going to see here is going to be the Northern Cottonmouth,” Vukovich told 5 On Your Side. “The other two venomous snakes are the Copperhead and the Timber Rattlesnake. You have a good chance of seeing those.”
“It’s possible you could see zero snakes on your hike, though that’s more likely if you’re moving too quickly. You can better your chances of spotting snakes by walking slowly and keeping a close eye on the grass in the center of the road, as well as both edges of the road,” said Vuckovich.
@hunterbasslernews Thousands of snakes shut down Illinois road during migration. #environment #animals #midwest
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“It’s a great way to get people over that feeling that snakes are bad and they’re nasty creatures,” he added. “They’re not. They’re not at all.”
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