250 snakes released into the wild

REGINA – Nearly 250 snakes captured from a farmhouse near Regina in November were released back into the wild Saturday afternoon.

Over the winter, three students from Saskatchewan Polytechnic cared for 99 of the hibernating snakes. They checked in on them daily, monitoring their weight as well as the temperature and the humidity of their artificial hibernation chambers.

The remaining 150 snakes were cared for at Salthaven West, a wildlife rehabilitation centre. Instead of hibernating, the snakes were fed and kept awake.

The reptiles were rescued in November after they wriggled into an old farm house through cracks in its foundation.

The snakes were released Saturday at the Condie Nature Refuge, northwest of Regina.