Florida officials released for the eighth straight year 41 eastern indigo snakes into the wild Tuesday, according to a press statement by the Central Florida Zoo.
The zoo in its press release described this project as an effort “to return the native, non-venomous apex predator” to the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve’s (ABRP) “restored sandhill habitats.” (RELATED: City-Dwellers Voted To Release Wolves Into Colorado … Now Their GPS Trackers Are Failin)
Roughly 167 eastern indigo snakes have been reintroduced to the wild through this project so far, the zoo said. “As we complete our eighth annual indigo release at ABRP, joy — with a touch of pride — fills my being. It is wonderful to see these young indigos have the opportunity to fill their important role as a lynchpin species in the longleaf pine ecosystem,” Dr. James Bogan Jr., the zoo’s Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation director, said in the press release.
“Releasing these snakes back into the environment is very important, especially when we’re trying to reestablish the Long Pine Leaf ecosystem. You know, they play a vital role in the circle of life here,” Bogan said when the snakes were set loose, according to the press release.
In 2023, the program achieved a milestone with previously released snakes having wild-born offspring, the press release observed. “It’s exciting that the indigos are now successfully reproducing on their own,” Michele Elmore, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, said in the press release.
41 ‘apex predators’ — that eat venomous snakes — released in north Florida. Here’s why. https://t.co/zjePpvS20q
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) May 3, 2024
Eastern indigo snakes typically reach between 5 to 7 feet long, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. The snake is known to hunt small mammals, birds, amphibians, fish, turtles, and other snakes, the institute noted.