Starting in 2010, Minnesota Nongame Wildlife Program biologists from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources implanted Plains Hog-nosed Snakes with tracking devices (telemetry). These devices allow biologists to follow snakes throughout the active season to document snake spatial ecology (movement patterns, habitat selection, and other behaviors). Natural history observations following the first two years were published with some findings supporting observations made by others, but much of what has been discovered runs contrary to what was believed up to that point (Hoaglund & Smith, 2012). For instance, based on over 450 observations made using telemetry, biologists discovered that hognose spend the majority of their time above ground, even during the heat of the day, but are extremely difficult to find because they hide in grass clumps, under thatch, and in small patches of shrubs (as shown in the HerpersTV video).

Stay tuned!

Additional years of tracking have occurred since the Hoaglund and Smith (2012) publication, making this project the largest ever conducted for this species. Additional publications are in preparation, and will further illuminate the fascinating lives of this small secretive snake.

And just because it is cool...

Here is a video of a Plains Hog-nosed Snake burrowing into a communal overwintering site in central Minnesota.