Last Page  |  Next Page  |  Top  |  Table of Contents
 
You can create cover by establishing brush piles, rocks, logs, long grass, and leaf litter. These habitat features will attract snakes, amphibian species, and even small mammals.

Cover provides snakes with resting areas, safety, hunting grounds, gestation areas, and shelter from the elements. If you presently do not have cover on your property, many natural items may be used. If you do have a resident massasauga, do not disturb the existing cover. To reduce human-snake interactions, establish your snake habitat away from public or well used areas. Many of the same items used for cover can be used for basking. Large flat rocks, wood and brush piles, fallen trees or bare ground are ideal habitats for snakes. Since massasaugas are sensitive to disturbances, these habitats should be established in a quiet, undisturbed area.

2. REPORT YOUR RATTLESNAKE SIGHTINGS

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources operates Ontario’s Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC). The Centre is dedicated to protecting Ontario’s biodiversity, and is responsible for assembling and organizing information on species at risk.

First hand reports of any species at risk can be made through the NHIC website at:
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/nhic/nhic.html or by mail:

Natural Heritage Information Centre
Ministry of Natural Resources
300 Water Street, 2nd Floor, North Tower
Peterborough, Ontario K9J 8M5, Canada

Tel: (705) 755-2159 Fax: (705) 755-2168

It is important to report your sightings, since wildlife managers use this information to track the status and distribution of various species.
 


 

Natural areas left on a property within
the Town of La Salle.

If you lack Internet access, you can report your sightings by calling the local MNR office and speaking to the wildlife biologist or ecologist.
You can also call the Ojibway Nature Centre at (519) 966-5852 (see Section 7). Since misidentification of snakes is always a possibility, providing a photograph of the snake may help officials confirm the species.

3. BECOME A CONCERNED PROPERTY OWNER

Concerned property owners around the Ojibway Prairie area can minimize stress on snake populations by:

• allowing unused property to become naturalized;
• retaining brush piles instead of burning them;
• allowing natural vegetation to grow;
• learning more about the wildlife in their area.

Last Page  |  Next Page  |  Top  |  Table of Contents