Rare Copperbelly Water Snake Extinct in 20 Years as Only 40 Remains, Scientists Warn

There are only 40 of the rare copperbelly water snake species left in the world, according to scientists, meaning that the reptile could go extinct in 20 years.

Copperbelly Water Snake

Megan Seymour's target is revealed when a small change in color and texture is spotted in the tangled buttonbush swamp: a thick, glossy, copperbelly water snake (Nerodia erythrogaster neglecta).

A four-foot water snake's bite can hurt even though it is not venomous.

However, Seymour, a US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, has lost track of how many non-venomous snake species have bitten her.

She is quick to add that the snakes are not slimy, not vicious, and not out to get people.

One of North America's largest wetland areas was home to the copperbelly water snake, so named due to its tangerine-orange underside.

The Great Black Swamp, which was approximately the size of Connecticut and covered much of northwestern Ohio before reaching Fort Wayne in Indiana, was a haven for elk, wolves, mountain lions, and black bears.

Only 20 square miles-about the size of Manhattan Island-of remaining swamp forest in the tri-state region is copperbelly water snake territory.

Extinct in 20 Years

Although the precise number of the reptiles is unknown, experts believe that fewer than 100, and possibly as few as 40, individuals still exist.

Within 20 years, according to Nathan Herbert, a land steward with the international nonprofit organization Nature Conservancy, the snake species will be extinct.

Due to its status as "an umbrella species," which includes the rare bobolink blackbird and the checkerspot butterfly, he thinks saving the copperbelly water snake is crucial for the region's ecology.

According to Treehugger, when conservation plans are being made, umbrella species are the chosen representatives of their ecosystem.

Under the same "umbrella" of conservation, other species that are a part of these organisms' ecosystems will gain from protecting them.

In areas where there are many species of concern or in areas of unknown true biodiversity, an umbrella species is typically selected to make ecosystem approaches easier.

Nobody had seen a copperbelly water snake in the wild alive in nearly three years when Seymour started looking for them in the spring of 2021.

She searched through the wetlands that the species had previously lived in for more than 180 hours without coming across any.

The outcome, according to Seymour, was extremely alarming and led the team to conclude that captive propagation was the best course of action.

Captive Breeding

The practice of captive breeding serves as a type of extinction insurance.

While habitat is being restored for their eventual return to the wild, assisting endangered species to breed in captivity can build population size, maintain genetic diversity, and protect rare species.

Jeffrey Cohn mentioned in his study published in JSTOR that bald eagles, Andean condors, and golden lion tamarins that were born in captivity are now free.

Red wolves have also been returned to their natural habitat.

South of Detroit, the Toledo Zoo and the US Fish and Wildlife Service are working together to breed copperbelly water snakes in captivity.

The hellbender salamander as well as the Blanding's turtle, two native species that are in decline, have both been successfully raised at the zoo.

However, no one had ever attempted to breed copperbelly water snakes in captivity.

Seymour discovered and captured six copperbelly water snakes in 2022-three males and three females-with the assistance of private landowners.

The snakes at the Toledo Zoo have adapted to captivity very quickly.

According to Seymour, the snakes are doing fantastic because they are eating, shedding, and acting appropriately.

One of the females gave birth to 24 young just four months after being captured, making them the first copperbelly water snakes born in captivity.

Each snake's subtle blotching as a juvenile quickly turns black as it grows.

The namesake copper color of the bellies is already prevalent.

A conservation biologist at the Toledo Zoo, Dr. Matthew Cross, sees the captive breeding and subsequent reintroduction of the copperbelly water snake as an opportunity to right ecological wrongs caused by humanity.

The copperbelly water snake's survival will be the focus of Seymour, Cross, and the Toledo Zoo team for the ensuing 15 years. As early as next year, the snakes raised in zoos could make their way back to the wetlands, where their parents once lived.

According to Seymour, there could be thousands of baby snakes born over the next 15 years if captive breeding is successful, The Guardian reported.