If you’re headed out for a hike in the mountains, you might expect to cross paths with an elk or maybe even a bear, but what about a 1.5-metre-long ball python?
Believe it or not, a ball python was recently spotted in Bow Valley Provincial Park.
Now, that’ll get your heart racing!
The scaly reptile is obviously a long way from home.
Ball pythons originate from western Africa and are native to the region’s open woodlands and savannas.
Populations of ball pythons have been recorded in 18 countries. Canada is not one of them. These little guys can’t exactly swim across oceans, so how did they end up in Alberta, let alone Canada?
While Ball pythons aren’t native to Canada, they are perfectly legal to own as pets in some provinces, including Alberta, where residents can keep ball pythons without a license.
Ball pythons are also the easiest snake breeds to take care of, making them the world’s most commonly traded python species for the “exotic” pet industry.
There are many ball python breeders in Alberta and across Canada, making it easy for reptile enthusiasts to get their hands on these snakes.
Sheri Monk, the owner of Snakes on a Plain in Redcliff believes the ball python spotted in Kananaskis was likely abandoned by its owner.
“You hear of it occasionally. Typically, it’s the result of an irresponsible pet owner that no longer wants to take care of the snake. Or perhaps, they’ve had a roommate, or whatever the situation is — it wasn’t their snake — and they were just not sure what to do with it,” Monk told CBC News.
While it’s unlikely, Monk points out that the snake may have accidentally been misplaced by its owner.
“It’s a strange world, and maybe somebody wanted to take their snake camping with them. I don’t know. We may never know unless that original pet owner comes forward,” she explained.
Although Alberta Parks issued a warning, it isn’t the end of the world if you run into Kananaskis’ rogue ball python during your hike.
Not So Dangerous Danger Noodle
Snakes get a bad rep, but ball pythons are actually little sweethearts. They are one of the smallest pythons, measuring an average of two to four feet in length.
Ball pythons are non-venomous and mainly feed on small mammals and birds. The species is named after its defensive behaviour, which involves curling into a tight ball when threatened.
Very few snakes bite first and ask questions later, but ball pythons aren’t on that list of snakes.
These snakes rarely bite if handled correctly, but it hurts when they do.
Ball pythons have about 150 teeth that are one centimetre long. The teeth are hook-shaped, allowing the pythons to hold their prey as they constrict and kill.
In the worst-case scenario, a person bitten by a ball python might end up with a knick, but they won’t lose a finger or toe. Pets are a different story.
According to Monk, it’s possible a ball python could eat a small dog or cat, although the odds are incredibly slim.
Alberta is home to six snake species. Only one species, the prairie rattlesnake, possesses venom that is harmful to humans.
Prairie rattlesnakes are usually found in native prairie grasslands, prairie river valleys, ravines, and badlands.
If you live in Kananaskis, you have nothing to worry about. Lethbridge, not so much.
Lethbridge is a hotspot for prairie rattlesnakes, most of which slither about in the city’s river valley and west Lethbridge.
Prairie rattlesnake bites are rarely fatal, and the likelihood of being bitten, let alone running into a prairie rattlesnake, is incredibly low.
Across North America, less than one percent of all snake bites are fatal.
Naked And Afraid
According to Environment Canada, Kananaskis is looking at temperatures as high as 30°C this week, with lows as low as 9°C.
Ball pythons thrive in temperatures between 27-29°C and like to bask in temperatures between 32-33°C. Anything above 35°C and below 24°C is dangerous for ball pythons.
“We think of reptiles as being cold-blooded, which is true, they do need the environment to warm themselves up. But the flip side of that is that they can’t overheat, so they also have to use the environment to keep their bodies cool enough as well. Just like us, they have a temperature range — too hot is not good and too cold is not good,” explained Monk.
Alberta gets crazy hot, but our climate is nothing like Africa where ball pythons originate from. If the cold hasn’t yet claimed our adventurous ball python in Kananaskis, a predator probably has.
Many python species are attacked and eaten by various birds, wild dogs, large frogs, large insects, spiders, and even other snakes.
If the little guy is still alive, let’s hope a company like Monk’s, which is licensed to handle and relocate snakes, gets its hands on it before a predator does.
If you are thinking about abandoning your pet, be it a snake or a dog, don’t dump them in the wilderness.
Although shelters in Alberta are packed to the brim, your pet is better off there than in the wild.
Carelessly dumping exotic pets in the wild can also lead to biological invasion that threatens biodiversity conservation in the environment.
“Among other negative effects, they can hunt native species, and alter the natural hábitat and can bring diseases that can persist in the native fauna even when the animal with the disease has already disappeared,” wrote Alberto Maceda-Veiga, one of the authors of a University of Barcelona study on preventing the abandonment of exotic pets.
Snakes are misunderstood animals that deserve to be judged just as fairly as any other animal.
Anyone who sees Kananaskis’ ball python is asked to call emergency services at 403-591-7755.
