2025: Year of the Snake
Greetings all! In celebration of year of the snake, I thought it would be fun to tell you about some of the snakes on the refuge while also shedding some light on the traditional practices of the lunar new year!
Brief History of The Lunar New Year:
The Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, originated from the ancient Chinese lunar calendar. This calendar is over 4,000 years old. The calendar shows the lunar phases and solar years overlapped. The people of ancient China (specifically the Han dynasty) used this calendar for agricultural purposes but, traditions tied to the calendar have stayed until present day in numerous countries.
The actual celebration is dedicated to remembering loved ones who have passed, ancestors, and certain religious deities. This celebration has many ties to Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. It is common practice to be with family and give gifts of money, traditionally to the younger members of the family. The money usually consists of freshly printed bills that are in red decorated envelopes.
Countries that actively celebrate the Lunar New Year included but are not limited to: China, Vietnam, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, Tibet, Brunei, Cambodia, Mongolia, North Korea, and Malaysia. This year The Lunar New Year was celebrated on January 29th.
Snakes on Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge:
Northern Copperhead: This is a venomous pit viper snake that is on our refuge. These snakes are venomous but a bite from them will not kill you. The NC is a lethargic snake that only attacks when threatened. They have a life span of 18 years.
Southern Black Racer: These snakes on the refuge are very active during the day and will eat any prey that they can manage to kill. These snakes are also very fast getting the name 'racer'. The SBR is a good climber and swimmer. Surprisingly for its high activity these snakes are known to be solitary animals.
Copperbelly Water snake: This snake is a federally endangered species. These snakes are usually in hibernacula most of the year, meaning that they are underground and inactive. In order to do well as a species, they require high levels of toads and frogs to serve as a prey base.
Eastern Hognose snake: This is a non-venomous snake that is here on the refuge. The EHS is known to almost never bite and has a very interesting defensive pattern. If they feel as if they are being threatened, they have a way of tricking and/or faking out their predators. Most of the time these snakes are exposed and not in shelters.
Eastern Hognose snake I hope that you learned something I know I sure did looking up all these snakes!
-Sierra
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