Venomous snakes becoming more active in Kansas

MCPHERSON COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — As the weather continues to warm, snakes across Kansas are becoming more active.

Out of the species of snakes, the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks says there are only four native venomous snakes you might encounter: the prairie rattlesnake – found in the western half of the state; the massasauga rattlesnake – found in the eastern two-thirds of the state; the timber rattlesnake ­– found in the eastern fourth of the state; and the copperhead, found in the eastern third of the state.

A Kansas game warden recently removed a massasauga rattlesnake that was killed from McPherson County State Fishing Lake “to protect any children or pets that may have wandered across it.”

The KDWP warns that rattlesnakes can still envenomate for some time after death.

Steven Beaupré, a biology professor at the University of Arkansas, told Live Science that biting is one of the reflexes that can be activated in the brain even hours after the animal dies.

However, deaths from snakebites are extremely rare; the Centers for Disease Control estimates they account for about five fatalities annually in the U.S. Of those bitten by rattlesnakes, 10–44 percent will have lasting injuries.

The KDWP also said that wild reptiles can only be collected, live or dead, for non-commercial purposes. They cannot be sold or bartered, and a hunting license is required.

For more information about snakes in Kansas, click here.