A whole bunch of snakes being released at the same time might be cause for concern in, say, the movie "Snakes on a Plane." But in Alabama, it's cause for celebration, as 40 Eastern indigo snakes were reintroduced into a forest where they once thrived, the Andalusia Star News reported.
The Eastern indigo snakes were released into the Conecuh National Forest in a joint effort coordinated by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Auburn University, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Zoo Atlanta, and the Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation at the Central Florida Zoo.
These snakes, which are native to Alabama's coastal areas, saw their populations begin to decline in the early 1900s because of habitat loss. The last one spotted in the wild, prior to reintroduction efforts, was in the 1950s.
Eastern indigos are large, averaging six to seven feet in length, and nonvenomous. Their diet consists of small mammals, amphibians, lizards, and other snakes, including venomous ones such as copperheads and rattlesnakes.
"Alabama is one of the most biologically diverse states in the country, and we're excited to be a part of restoring a previously missing piece of our natural history. I am grateful to our partners who are a part of this important project," Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Chris Blankenship told the Andalusia Star News.
Though many species have been lost entirely or had their populations severely dwindle because of human-caused problems such as habitat loss, pollution, and overhunting, research has shown that reintroducing these species and creating conditions that allow them to thrive once again has an overall positive effect on the ecosystems that they are a part of.
In Romania, a reintroduced herd of bison has the potential to cancel out a sizable amount of planet-overheating air pollution, one study showed.
In the Galápagos Islands, 136 reintroduced tortoises are expected to help restore the islands' ecological balance and improve biodiversity.
In North Carolina, reintroduced red wolves are expected to help keep deer populations in check and prevent overgrazing. Those are just a few of the many examples of threatened species being brought back to the wild by conservation groups.
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