These Important Snakes Were on the Edge of Extinction. Thanks to Conservationists, They’re Coming Back Home!
Snakes are a vital part of our ecosystem, but they’re often maligned and misunderstood. Acting as both predators and prey, they help balance and sustain a healthy food chain. Like other snakes, the Eastern indigo is a very important species — and they’re also the largest native snakes in the U.S. But over the past several decades, they’ve become increasingly rare due to human construction and habitat loss. In fact, they’re now federally listed as a protected species. And in the state of Alabama — where they used to be plentiful — they’ve been extinct for 60 years.
Thankfully, some Eastern indigo snakes survived in Georgia. That enabled a team of conservationists to start a program to breed and reintroduce the snakes to their native Alabama. Recently, the conservationist team discovered something miraculous: a young Eastern indigo snake in Alabama… that isn’t from their breeding project. This wild-born indigo snake is only the second one discovered in Alabama since their work began, and it signals that the conservationists’ efforts are paying off. Now that the rare Eastern indigo snake is coming back to its homelands in Alabama, we have to make sure we don’t lose these reptiles again. Sign the petition to demand the U.S. government implement stronger protections! We must conserve these snakes’ habitat from further destruction.