Sad news

[Reptar!]

So today when I got home I decided to go out field herping with my buddy and we did not have a very good time. We went to a local elementary school that I used to go to and find snakes all the time, and to our disappointment we did not see any live snakes, however we did find two dead ones. It was a really sad sight. They were about fifty yards from each other. They both were very stiff and eaten by bugs and insects pretty bad. I do not understand what is going on down there. Not even two weeks ago I found five or so healthy snakes there. Im wondering what has happened in the past weeks. Any ideas? I can't think of any explanation.

[guidofatherof5]

Nature.

Stefan's signature says it all.

Natura non contristatur, nature is not saddened, That is, the natural world is not sentimental or compassionate.

[d_virginiana]

If you continue to find a lot of dead snakes around, I'd wonder if maybe someone in the area was spraying some sort of pesticide. If not, then it's just one of those things that happens.

[kibakiba]

Or perhaps an outbreak of a disease in the animals that the snakes have been eating. I don't know if that really happens , though.

[Reptar!]

Yeah I was actually thinking all three of those things. I figured finding two was just chance. The part that worries me is the field I find them in is on this guys property that gave me permission to go out there as long as I am not messing with the snakes, like taking them home. He likes them. But the field is met with a fence that separates his property from the school playground. And the kids in my area are very cruel to animals. I don't know. I just hate seeing the population diminish. I'll talk to the property owner and see if I can do anything to help with keeping that area a little more safe. One of the snakes I found had a huge gash out of its side. Like it was hit with a weed whacker or a stick or something. The other one looked normal. Just eaten a little. I will try to keep you guys posted. Thanks for the help.

[kibakiba]

Hopefully he can figure something out. It's always nice to find someone who cares about the animals in his yard. Not many people do.

[Reptar!]

Yeah. He is a very nice person. He has like 6 acres or so. He is a distant relative of a close friend of mine. He said I can go through his field as long as Im respectful. I think I am going to go and speak with him tomorrow morning and see if there is a way I can help out with the area. It is getting pretty dry out there. But he doesn't water. We'll see. I don't want to mess with nature too much. I think I'll ask him if he has put out any pesticides this year.