![]() Along with traditional foot surveys to monitor snakes, Michelle Hoffman (OCIC) uses trail cameras at the mouths of tortoise burrows and at intersections of fencing, some of which are paired with automatic PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tag readers, to detect snakes as they pass by. In the past year, numerous indigos from previous releases have been observed on ABRP. Largely eliminated from northern Florida due to habitat loss and fragmentation, the indigo was last observed at ABRP in 1982, until the species recovery effort began in 2017. The snakes were historically found in southern Georgia, Alabama, eastern Mississippi, and throughout Florida, though their range is now far more restricted. Reaching lengths over eight feet long, the indigo often relies upon gopher tortoise burrows for shelter during cold weather. It serves a critical function to balance the wildlife community by consuming a variety of small animals including both venomous and non-venomous snakes. The eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) is the longest snake native to North America and an iconic and essential component of the now rare southern longleaf pine ecosystem. "Decades of innovative ecological restoration work at TNC's Center for Conservation Initiatives' Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve have led to this point, welcoming this keystone species back home to its native sandhill habitat," said Andrew Rappe, Preserve Management Director, TNC Florida. Raised specifically for release, the 19 snakes bring the total number of indigos released on the property to date to 126. The partners have worked together for decades to restore and manage the habitat required by the snake, and many other species, to make the release possible. Jones Ecological Research Center, Southern Company through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), and the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Welaka National Fish Hatchery, The Orianne Society, Joseph W. The eastern indigo species recovery effort in North Florida is the long-term joint commitment of multiple nonprofit, agency, and academic partners including: The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens’ Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation (OCIC), the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), U.S. ![]() The multi-partner effort brings the snakes-listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act-to TNC’s Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve (ABRP) in Bristol, to continue efforts to establish a growing population to support species recovery in this ideal protected habitat. ![]() Today, 19 young eastern indigo snakes were released in northern Florida, marking the seventh consecutive year of a collaborative program to return the native, non-venomous apex predator to the region. ![]()
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