POISONOUS SNAKES OF KANSAS
Robert F. Clarke
Department of Biology
Kansas State Teachers College of Emporia
THE KANSAS SCHOOL NATURALIST
Vol. 5 No. 3 February 1959
The Kansas
School Naturalist
Published by
The Kansas State Teachers College of Emporia
Prepared and Issued by
The Department of Biology, with
the cooperation of the Division of Education
Editor: John Breukelman
Department of Biology
Editorial Committee: Ina M. Borman, Robert F. Clarke, Helen M. Douglass, Gilbert A. Leisman, Carl W. Prophet, Dixon Smith
Because of the greatly increased cost, due to the color plates, nofree copies of this issue will be available. Extra copies may be obtainedfor 25 cents each, postpaid. Send orders to The Kansas SchoolNaturalist, Department of Biology, State Teachers College, Emporia,Kansas.
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The Kansas School Naturalist is published in October, December,February, and April of each year by The Kansas State Teachers College,Twelfth Avenue and Commercial Street, Emporia, Kansas.Second-class mail privileges authorized at Emporia, Kansas.
Poisonous Snakes of Kansas
by Robert F. Clarke
Many persons either do not knowanything at all about the poisonoussnakes of our state or have a distortedgroup of misconceptions concerningthem. These misconceptionsrun from plain misknowledgeabout the range or identification ofpoisonous snakes to fancifullyelaborate stories in which theremay or may not be the barestthread of fact.
The prime reason that every personshould know the poisonoussnakes of his region by sight andknow something about their habits,distribution, and abundance is thatit will ease the mind of the averageindividual in all of his outdoor pursuits.Most persons have heard somany false stories about snakes thatthey develop a fear of all snakes.This fear is unfounded! A personwho knows what poisonous snakeshe can expect to encounter in agiven area need only learn to identifythese and realize that all othersnakes, lizards, frogs, toads, salamanders,and turtles do not have apoisonous bite, and, therefore, heneed not fear them. With aknowledge of the poisonous snakes,a person can avoid places wherethese snakes might be found. Anotheraspect is the conservation ofsnakes. Too many people kill snakesjust because they happen to besnakes. This is uncalled for destruction—anon-poisonous snake shouldno more be killed than a song bird.In many cases, the harmless snakesare of direct economic value.
In general, all snakes are similarin habits. In Kansas, they retire forthe winter in places where thetemperature will not get below thefreezing point. These may be inrocky ledges, beneath the soil, belowthe roots of trees, or in protectedplaces of human design, suchas grai