78: Bullsnake/Gophersnake

I write to you from Arapahoe, Ute, and Cheyenne land. I am interested in learning about the different animals that live in the place where I was born. Before we start with today’s animal, I want to emphasize that biological classification as understood by western society has its roots in racism, sexism, and transphobia – here’s a good explainer about why.

*The bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi), which is currently considered a subspecies of the gophersnake (Pituophis catenifer), is one of the largest and longest snakes in North America – it can be up to 8’ long! Fascinatingly to me, despite that length, even the largest ones weigh under 10 lbs. They are constrictors who squeeze their prey – largely rodents, but also lizards and ground nesting birds – into cardiac arrest before consuming them. Someone somewhere studied this and a juvenile bullsnake can eat five small birds within fifteen minutes. This seems like a grotesque version of a hot dog eating contest but in reality was probably someone’s camera trap PhD project. Interestingly, the folk belief that bullsnakes eat rattlesnakes and therefore should be kept around as friends to humans was ALSO studied and, out of 1000 bullsnakes, only 2 had rattlesnake remains in their digestive tracts. So it seems like rattlesnake is more of a rare delicacy than an everyday bullsnake meal.

If you see a large snake in Colorado, chances are, it is a bullsnake – they are widely distributed in the state. They are also completely harmless to humans and their pet dogs (I guess theoretically you could have a small enough chihuahua that it would be in danger…). They will rattle their tail like a rattlesnake when threatened, but the telltale rattle sound will not emerge. Bullsnakes like to live in burrows which they excavate using their muscular heads and necks; their territory is places like plains and meadows, open and with easy digging. Here’s a nice video of a bullsnake exploring a grassy area.

*I had my covid booster just about twelve hours ago and the fatigue and brain fog are taxiing in for landing on my brainspace.