Foraging: Northern water snakes are some of the most northern aquatic snakes meaning they frequent water bodies colder than most snakes can tolerate. Most snakes are ectothermic, commonly called "cold blooded", meaning they cannot regulate their own temperature internally and instead rely on external heat for energy. Foraging in cold water can reduce the snake's energy although they have adapted a number of behavioral strategies to avoid this. Many snakes have been documented foraging between the hours of 10:00AM and 8:00PM when water temperatures are at their warmest during the summer months. Another strategy is to move to periodically move to warmer waters to hunt, this allowed them to continue hunting instead of having to bask on the shore where they can fall prey to predatory birds. Water snakes typically hunt fish although will take amphibians when given the opportunity. They may also have to deal with with competition from larger fish species particularly bass. In one instance, two bass sp. were observed chasing a water snake in deeper water, when they got close enough, they attempted to take the smaller fish in the snake's mouth.
|
Traditional Ecological Knowledge: In what is now Toronto, there was a large pristine coastline which homed a plethora of wildlife including a large population of northern water snakes, possibly one of the largest in the country. Water snakes in Ontario were so prominent that they had become integrated into the culture of many Indigenous Peoples, such as the local Misi-zaagiing Anishinaabec, with stories of aquatic serpentine figures. One of which, the 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘸, is a powerful water spirit and one of the more well known of the Agawa pictographs. 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘸 is depicted as having scales akin to a snake or fish but with the body of a giant lynx, spikes down its back and horns made of copper. 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘸 was often associated with the giant snakes, 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘬𝘰𝘰𝘨, that also live under the Great Lakes. (Pine, 2010). After the Toronto Purchase of 1787, many of the Indigenous Peoples were displaced and the landscape was quickly developed. The land became a hub for trade which lead to the coastline being converted into docks and harbour. Here, water snakes could no longer live and now in Toronto, can only be found in small numbers along the tributaries that cut through the city. Through the city’s expansion, Toronto has lost much of its wildlife, Indigenous Peoples and its connection to the land.
|
Sources:
Attard, Charlie. Personal interview. 2020. Conway, Thor. Spirits on Stone. Sault Ste. Marie, Heritage Discoveries Inc., 2010, pp. 36-41. Hansknecht, Kerry A. "Thermal and Temporal Aspects of Cold-Water Foraging by the Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon)." Research Gate, Central Michigan University, Aug. 2003, www.researchgate.net/profile/Kerry-Hansknecht/publication/267952151_THERMAL_AND_TEMPORAL_ASPECTS_OF_COLD-WATER_FORAGING_BY_THE_NORTHERN_WATER_SNAKE_NERODIA_SIPEDON_SIPEDON/links/54de06050cf281. Accessed 27 Jan. 2022. "Northern Watersnake." Ontario Nature, 2022, ontarionature.org/programs/community-science/reptile-amphibian-atlas/northern-watersnake/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2022. |