The Eastern Massasauga, an endangered species of rattlesnake, has made their home in Champaign County’s own Cedar Bog. The species has lost much of its Ohio habitat and can only be found in a few counties. (Submitted photo)
It's no secret that Cedar Bog is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna that people can walk around and enjoy. What most people do not know is that the bog is one of the last vestiges of an endangered species of snake, the Eastern Massasauga.
Some may ask what makes the massasauga so important that it needs protected. It is, after all, just a snake and the bog does not have any shortage of those.
The question can be answered in two ways from one man, Jeff Davis, survey coordinator and self professed naturalist with degrees in botany and zoology.
From a naturalist stand point, Davis asks, "Why does it have to be important to protect it? I think it is critical to preserve as much or our natural heritage as we possibly can."
From an economic stand point, Davis said the massasauga is important as it helps a great deal in controlling the mice, rats and shrew that are also abundant at the bog.
Davis said he is often approached by the skeptic who asks him why the species of rattlesnake is important, so he is used to answering. He added, however, "From my standpoint, I hate the question 'what is its importance' because often times that question is associated with, 'then why do we need to protect it?' I think it's important to protect a slice of everything that Ohio once had."
He came to his beliefs after watching industry take over his hometown area.
"I live in Hamilton," said Davis, "and when I used to go to my grandparents' house, which was about 20 minutes away, it was an adventure into the countryside."
But it isn't like that anymore, according to Davis. "I have watched since my childhood, maybe the last 30 years or so, southwest Ohio get swallowed up by development."
He said his grandparents' road, which he used to consider wilderness, now has a McDonald's on one end and a Wendy's at the other with a Kroger and multiple subdivisions scattered in between.
"So for me, to be able to come to a place like this (the bog), where development hasn't ruined it yet, and go for a walk for an hour and see 50 snakes is just really incredible," he said. "I think it gives us a picture into what the natural heritage of Ohio used to be."
A snake's slithering grounds
Davis said the snakes are a prairie relic and are associated with wetlands. In other words, during the warm season the massasauga live and hunt in the prairie, and spend their winters in wetlands.
Unfortunately, for the snake, that means both types of land need to be protected to keep their numbers from dwindling.
Davis said the endangered species can be found in Ohio in seven counties. According to early records, they used to have large populations in 32 Ohio counties.
"When you get to our part of the state, "said Davis, "they seem to be associated with the Mad River Valley and the Buck Creek Valley in Clark County and the Little Miami River Valley in Greene County."
Cedar Bog is probably the most well-known place for massasauga, according to Davis.
He said a well-known herpetologist and author, Roger Conant, wrote "The Reptiles of Ohio" in 1947, where he discussed the Mad River Valley and, in particular, Cedar Bog.
Davis said Conant's written observations are important. Although Conant did not include concrete numbers of populations, he does give Davis an idea of what the area looked like prior to being drained, tilled and turned into farm land.
According to those observations, the Eastern Massasauga was abundant.
"It's a very different place now," said Davis. "The population is in extreme decline.
He mentioned an additional reptile that made its way on the endangered species list found at the bog, the spotted turtle.
Interestingly, Davis said, wherever they find massasauga, they also find these four-inch long black creatures with yellow spots on their shell.
However, he said that is correlation only, as spotted turtles can be found as far south as Florida, but Eastern Massasauga are not found south of Greene County.
According to Davis, "Places like the bog are these species' last place they are hanging on."
A history of decline
The first time the Ohio Division of Wildlife asked Davis to do a survey of the massasauga population at the bog was in 1994.
"There was one day I found 13 massasauga," he said. At the time, that was considered pretty good.
A decade later, ODW sent him back to do another check. He conducted the survey in 2005 and did not find a single massasauga.
In 2006, he said he found three, one of which was a juvenile.
"I was really excited about that," said Davis, explaining that finding one of the younger snakes means they are still reproducing.
Davis cited some reasons for the snakes shrinking population.
"Massasauga will not go under the canopy of a forest," he said.
According to Davis, as nothing was done to the fields the snakes lived in, trees and bushes started to grow, making the land less suitable for the species.
Goldenrod also had a part to play. As Davis explained it, goldenrod secretes a chemical into the soil that kills all the other plants around it so that it can take over an area. Among the plants killed is the grass. Since grass seed is one of the mainstays of a field mouse's diet, the mice leave. That makes the area more inhospitable for the snakes as their prey leaves the area.
According to Davis, there has been a group of herpetologists that performed some land management at the bog, cutting down trees and removing shrubs and bushes.
"Their management efforts may have a lot to do with protecting the species," said Davis.
Whenever he finds one of the endangered snakes, Davis said he checks for many things, including, length, weight, age and sex.
He also injects them with a PIT tag (Passive Integrated Transponder) to keep track of movement.
In addition, a DNA sample is taken to make sure the snakes aren't inbreeding themselves into extinction.
After all the necessary steps have been taken, Davis releases the snake back to the site where it was found.
"When an endangered animal needs protected, you can't know too much about them," said Davis.
A misunderstood creature
Davis believes there are many people who don't have a good impression of the limbless lizards, giving them an unwarranted bad reputation.
"They are generally no more than two feet long," he said, adding that the longest massasauga found at the bog was three feet.
Although not as long as some snakes, the Eastern Massasauga is "very thick-bodied." Davis described it as "quite a hefty critter."
They are usually tan or gray with brown spots that run the length of the body.
Also, since it is a rattlesnake, it has a rattle, but it is not as big or loud as other, more well-known species. In fact, Davis said, their rattle makes about as much noise as a bumble bee.
They are also nonaggressive.
"In 10 years of working with the species, I have found one out of about 190 that I've tagged by hearing it rattle," said Davis.
According to Davis, there are much more dangerous snakes to avoid than the docile massasauga.
"I would much rather not have to mess with a common water snake than a massasauga," he said. "Those guys are going to bite you if they get the chance."
In his observations, Davis said he has found that, as least where the Eastern Massasauga is concerned, even if a person moves the leaves and vegetation around a hidden snake, they are more likely to stay coiled and depend on their camouflage than to attack or slither away.
"The only time they strike is when I pick them up," said Davis, "Needless to say, I don't pick them up with my hands."
Davis did warn that the Eastern Massasauga is a venomous snake, and ounce for ounce, their venom is highly toxic. But it would be difficult for any human to die of a snake bite from one of these.
"Since they are so small, it is unlikely that one would grow large enough to produce an amount of venom to kill a full-sized adult," he said. They do, however, have the perfect amount of venom to kill mice, rats and shrew.
According to Davis, snake venom didn't evolve as a means of defense; it is an aid to help them eat. "Venom is modified saliva. It has digestive enzymes in it. Those enzymes are meant to either paralyze or kill the prey, but were not meant as a defense against predators."
Davis said for defense, snakes generally rely on camouflage or the ability to run away quickly.
"You would really have to corner a snake to get it to strike," he said. "To me, they are the most misunderstood animals, period."
"Ads published on this site are not for republication in print or web media without the expressed written consent of both the advertiser and The Brown Publishing Company."
