Wildlife officials are urging Floridians to report sightings of the rare rainbow snake, a nonvenomous species whose population has declined in recent decades.
Known for their striking iridescent black or violet-blue bodies with bright red stripes, rainbow snakes are semi-aquatic reptiles that primarily feed on American eels.
Experts say declining eel populations and habitat loss have contributed to the species’ dwindling numbers across Florida.
‘We need help from Floridians and visitors to better understand where rainbow snakes still occur in the state,’ said Kevin Enge, research scientist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
‘Every sighting report gives us valuable data about their current distribution and helps us assess the health of the species in Florida.’
Rainbow snakes are typically found near rivers, springs, and brackish marshes. A subspecies was historically spotted in Fisheating Creek, Glades County, but has not been seen there since 1952.
The FWC encourages anyone who encounters a rainbow snake to report it online, ideally with photos for confirmation.
The snakes are visually striking and difficult to mistake for other species, with three red stripes along their back, yellow-marked lip and chin scales, and adults typically reaching three to four feet in length.
Wildlife officials are asking Floridians for help in tracking down the elusive rainbow snake that has dwindled in population over the past few decades
They spend most of their time hiding under floating vegetation or burrowing near creeks, lakes, marshes and tidal flats, behavior that makes them uncommon even for herpetologists.
The species’ rarity has led to legal and conservation debates.
In 2010, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned to protect the South Florida rainbow snake under the Endangered Species Act, along with 403 other imperiled Southeast freshwater species.
The following year, federal authorities declared the snake extinct, though experts say no thorough survey supported that conclusion.
In 2020, Tracey Cauthen and Rebecca Boyer spotted a stunning four-foot-long rainbow snake while hiking in the Ocala National Forest, the first confirmed sighting in 50 years.
While the rainbow snake is welcomed in Florida, the python is a different story due to its enormous jaws, which allow it to eat virtually anything.
A study published in 2024 noted that the apex predator can eat anything as long as it can fit in its mouth.
‘Burmese Pythons (Python bivittatus) are apex predators that are larger than all but a few snake species, and their prey, which are swallowed whole, cannot exceed the size of their maximal gape,’ researchers led by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida wrote.
In 2020, hikers spotted a rainbow snake in Florida. The first to be seen in 50 years (PICTURED)
The snakes are visually striking and difficult to mistake for other species, with three red stripes along their back, yellow-marked lip and chin scales, and adults typically reaching three to four feet in length
‘Our study quantified the maximal gape of three large Burmese Pythons, including the longest specimen captured in Florida and one specimen that was captured while eating a deer.
‘All three specimens had maximal gape diameters of 26 cm that exceeded the previously reported maximal value of 22 cm’.
The experts explained that the python has a huge gape as its lower jawbones are not fused at the front, allowing its mouth to stretch wide.
Their elastic skin also accounts for more than half the circumference of the maximal gape in large pythons, allowing them to consume prey six times larger than similar-sized snakes of some other snake species.
This means that apart from foxes, bobcats, raccoons, these invasive snakes can also swallow deer, alligators and other prey whole in Florida.
‘Watching an invasive apex predator swallow a full-sized deer in front of you is something that you will never forget. The impact the Burmese python is having on native wildlife cannot be denied,’ the team shared.
