Q: According to an AJC article on March 8, kingsnakes are on the decline. I’ve always attributed the lack of rattlesnakes and other snakes on my 4-acre property to kingsnakes. Is it possible to obtain and release kingsnakes on my property?
—Tom Cotton, Senoia
A: All nonvenomous snakes, including kingsnakes, are protected in Georgia, so they can't be captured, sold, owned and killed in the state. It's also illegal to release captive wildlife, "primarily due to concerns about the potential for disease and parasite introduction to wild populations," the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' John Jensen told Q&A on the News in an email. Snakes, he wrote, likely would leave any area they were introduced. "They have strong site fidelity and homing abilities, and research has shown that far-displaced snakes spend their life trying to return home, even if that home was a terrarium," he wrote. Kingsnakes also will eat "suitably-sized vertebrates with equal enjoyment," including rodents, bats, non-venomous snakes, lizards, turtles, birds, and bird and turtle eggs, among other animals. "They don't gravitate to places where there are lots of venomous snakes, like popular belief would suggest. They gravitate toward places that have the right combination of shelter, food, water and space. They can be perfectly happy without any venomous snakes to eat," Jensen wrote. "If your property and surrounding lands have the right combination of shelter, food, water and space for kingsnakes, then you probably have them there naturally anyway."
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We'll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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