Notes and Observations on the Corn Snake in Kentucky

Text and photos by Phil Peak

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Equipped with a DeLorme's atlas, the search began in May of 2002. After spending an entire day searching through road side trash piles and abandoned farm sites outside of MCNP, Greg and I had resigned ourselves to the fact that perhaps the KY corn was a myth. We had given it an honest effort and for that we could at least reassure ourselves that we had tried. Now it was time to list our names on the long roster of others that had searched and failed.
As the sun was setting in the western sky we decided it was time to lick our wounds and proceed north back to Louisville. Deciding to take the back roads home instead of the interstate, we thought there was still a chance to see other species if we were to happen upon some roadside debris. At this point the search had shifted from corn snakes to whatever we could find. Greg was scanning the left  side of the road as I was studying the right. In the now dim light of early evening Greg mentioned that he thought he had seen a burned out trailer sitting on top of a rise. After a short discussion we decided to turn around and investigate.

Usually burn outs are not productive areas to look for snakes, but sometimes there are scraps of metal and boards to be found on the perimeter of these places that are worth looking at. This was one such place. Upon looking around we saw two medium sized boards and a stack of tin. We flipped the first board and found a pretty specimen of eastern garter snake. The other board looked equally inviting, but we decided to savor that one and check it on the way back to the truck.

Soon we were preoccupied sorting through the tin pile. Between the sheets of metal we were finding one northern ringneck snake after another. After a short time we proceeded to walk back to the truck and continue our journey home. It was at this time I remembered the other board that we had not yet checked.

As we lifted the board and peered under it, there lying quietly coiled was the most beautiful specimen of corn snake I had ever laid eyes on!

How could this be? I had the distinct impression that by this time we were well out of the possible range for a corn snake. Trembling with excitement, it was at that moment that I knew that they were real, and that we were on the cusp of making some significant progress in learning more about this species. In my excitement I collected this fine snake.
In the days that followed I began to feel a little guilty for taking this snake from its home. Exactly one week later I made a return trip to the burned out trailer site. To my shock and amazement a bulldozer was exiting the property as I was pulling up. The entire site had just been destroyed along with this snake's home. There is a significant chance that this snake would have been killed in the recent carnage that had taken place if it was still there. At that point I came to terms with myself and decided it was meant to be. This snake, a large male, is now the star attraction in the educational programs I do. 
Over the course of the remaining spring and summer I made frequent trips back to the area with Rich and Neil. Often times we would spend the entire day going down each road on the atlas in search of possible sites to search.
On one occasion, Rich and I stopped at a local grocery store to get some supplies. As I waited for Rich to make his way back to the car I took the opportunity to talk with some of the locals. I had a conversation with one lady in which I introduced myself and told her what we were looking for. Having grown up in the area, she had never heard of such a creature called a corn snake. I soon gave her a visual description of the snake in question to which she replied, "Oh, you're talking about the red chicken snake". Red chicken snake?!?!
No wonder none of the locals we had talked to knew what we were talking about!
As part of our routine we often times approach land owners and ask them for permission to search on their properties for herps. At first, most folks think we're a little bit nuts, but then they generally warm up to us. The people in this area are of the finest quality and represent what is truly great about KY. Now that we and the property owners were speaking the same language, we found that the locals were very familiar with the species in question. We were also very pleased to find that the majority of folks recognized the red chicken snake as a beneficial species and not only spared its life, but actually welcomed it into their barns and fields. This may go a long way in explaining why this population of corn snakes survives to this day.
It was a natural progression that soon Will Bird and I were to form a partnership. Will, like I had also been very interested in KY corns and had made a number of trips to the area. Soon we were comparing notes and making frequent trips of our own. Will and I shared a similar vision and had comparable ethics. This union was to prove to be one of great success. Among our goals was to find and photograph every species of herp in the state, and along the way contribute in any way we can to the knowledge base of herpetology in the state of KY.  
Before long we were finding additional specimens of red chicken snakes. We had the good fortune to find two gravid females on the property of one of the landowners who was especially interested in what we were doing. After their eggs were laid, we released one of the females back where we had found her. I hatched both clutches of eggs and donated offspring to the Louisville Zoo and the KY Reptile Zoo. Will and I held back a few hatchlings for our educational programs and released the rest back at the site where they had originated.
At this point we had obtained founder stock for future captive reproduction in the event there would be an interest in providing captive produced specimens to others at Universities or those doing educational programs without field collecting specimens. In our mind, a win win situation all around. The other female was subsequently released the following spring after egg deposition as were her offspring. I had bred her to the big male that we found at the burned out trailer site the previous spring that was but a short distance away. Thus we closed out the summer of 2002. 

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