---
title:                                  Narcisse Snake Dens
tagline:                                largest snake population
description:                            Largest snake population

date:                                   2016-11-24 00:00:00 +0100
series:

tags:                                   [ Canada, Cities ]
categories:                             [ Wikipedia ]

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          alt:                          Narcisse Snake Pits
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The Narcisse Snake Pits are located in the Rural Municipality of Armstrong
about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of Narcisse, Manitoba, Canada. The dens
are the winter home of tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes
(Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis).

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[[readmore]]
== Conservation

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These pits are the largest concentration in the world of this particular type
of snake. Their winter dens are subterranean caverns formed by the area's
water-worn limestone bedrock. In the spring, they come up from their dens to
the snake pits, where they engage in mating rituals. Then they disperse into
the nearby marshes for the summer.

The population of red-sided garter snakes around Narcisse was roughly 70,000
until terrible weather in 1999 killed tens of thousands of them before they
could reach their winter dens. This tragedy triggered concern about the
snakes' biannual migratory path, which cuts right across Highway 17.

Every year, ten thousand snakes trying to get to or from their winter dens had
been crushed under the wheels of vehicles. This had not been a problem before,
because the vast population compensated for the losses. After the winter of
1999, however, the population of garter snakes was dangerously low, causing
Manitoba Hydro and volunteers to intervene.

Foot-high snow fences were built to force snakes into six-inch (15-cm)
tunnels that went under Highway 17. Since some snakes still managed to
squeeze under the fence and onto the road, signs were put up during the
migratory season urging motorists to slow down to avoid accidentally driving
over snakes. These measures worked, and now less than a thousand snakes per
season are killed on the highway.

== Visiting

The conservation area is open to the public. The snakes are most active
during the spring and fall - in late April to early May, which is the mating
season, and also in early September, when the snakes slither back down to
their winter dens.