Rattlesnake sightings down in Lethbridge neighbourhoods this summer

Snake sightings in Lethbridge neighbourhoods are usually high around this time of year — but this season has been different with sightings on the decline.

On any day in July last year, Ryan Heavy Head, the city’s ecological consultant, may have received four or five calls reporting prairie rattlesnakes in urban areas. This year, he gets a call once every two to three days.

“It’s really slowed down from what it was the last couple years,” he said Monday. “Things are changing.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's really slowed down from what it was the last couple years," he said Monday. "Things are changing."

The past two years had seen a significant jump in people calling the city’s rattlesnake hotline to request snake relocations from urban areas, rising from about 70 calls a year to 170.

Heavy Head, who finds and relocates the rattlesnakes, said this is because of snake displacement due to recent large development projects. These have happened in areas near snake dens, such as new buildings at the University of Lethbridge and housing in the Canyons area.

By this time last year, Heavy Head had already received more than 70 snake calls. So far this season, he’s had 22.

“This year, a natural erosion that’s occurring on the edge of the coulee has really caused a large fissure separating the snake den and upper Canyons,” he said.

“So I think some snakes are not able to pass the gap like they used to, so they’re dispersing down into the coulees instead of up.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "So I think some snakes are not able to pass the gap like they used to, so they're dispersing down into the coulees instead of up."

Heavy Head added that he expects more snakes will be migrating to south Lethbridge because of all of the development on the west side, where they usually reside.

While sightings have gone down in the city’s urban areas, Heavy Head warns that people should remain cautious as we head into mating season.

“I actually expect for the latter part of July that the snake calls are going to increase just because the males are chasing females around, just following hormonal trails,” he explained.

“Whenever snakes are on the move, they tend to bump into people more often, so I’d be more on guard in snakey areas for the next few weeks.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Whenever snakes are on the move, they tend to bump into people more often, so I'd be more on guard in snakey areas for the next few weeks."

The largest snake populations in Lethbridge are found on the west side of the Oldman River, near Cottonwood Park. Snakes are also commonly encountered in the coulees, near Popson Park and north of the Elizabeth Hall Wetlands.

Jessica Deacon-Rogers, the program co-ordinator at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre, said people should stay on trails while walking in the coulees so it’s easier to spot rattlesnakes.

“If you think you hear a rattle from a snake, the best thing to do is to freeze on the spot and try to figure out where the snake is,” she said. “Because they are really well camouflaged, it’s best to kind of listen, see if you can spot where the snake is and then move away from the snake.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "If you think you hear a rattle from a snake, the best thing to do is to freeze on the spot and try to figure out where the snake is," she said. "Because they are really well camouflaged, it's best to kind of listen, see if you can spot where the snake is and then move away from the snake."

Snake sightings in the coulees can be reported to the Helen Schuler Nature Centre and snakes in urban areas can be reported to the city’s rattlesnake hotline for relocation at 403-332-6806.