Part 9

========+==================================================== | Males +-------------------------------+-------------------- Age in | Snout-vent length in mm. | Weight in grams Years +---------+----------+----------+---------+---------- | | Typical | Observed | | Observed | Average | range | range | Average | range --------+---------+----------+----------+---------+---------- 1+ | 539 | 432-609 | | | 2- | 615 | 500-676 | 560-674 | 68.2 | 51-92 2+ | 668 | 610-700 | 620-710 | 107.4 | 63-134 3- | 706 | 677-730 | 648-755 | 102.1 | 65-129 3+ | 740 | 701-754 | 667-780 | 147.0 | 93-216 4- | 757 | 731-772 | 725-809 | 139 | 95-251 4+ | 785 | 755-793 | 720-850 | 167.4 | 128-225 5- | 805.5 | 773-810 | 743-855 | 152.4 | 110-198 5+ | 810 | 801-831 | 773-858 | 163.9 | 89-211 6- | 827 | 811-831 | 765-883 | 175.9 | 130-230 7- | 845 | 832-850 | 788-900 | 181.2 | 125-210 8- | 868 | 851-873 | 740-890 | 217.5 | 194-225 8+ | 870 | 861-884 | | | --------+---------+----------+----------+---------+---------- | Females +---------+----------+----------+---------+---------- 1+ | 581 | | 415-658 | | 2- | 644 | 520-739 | 580-738 | 83.5 | 52-127 2+ | 743 | 685-804 | 670-826 | 135.2 | 73-200 3- | 810 | 740-829 | 730-880 | 149.4 | 98-219 3+ | 836 | 804-869 | 736-915 | 181.2 | 120-268 4- | 866 | 830-880 | 791-920 | 212.3 | 175-243 4+ | 883 | 870-914 | 810-952 | 191.2 | 143-300 5- | 914 | 880-929 | 833-1088 | 209.6 | 136-275 5+ | 932 | 915-954 | 883-990 | 250.4 | 195-336 6- | 965 | 930-961 | 892-1020 | 245.9 | 218-283 6+ | 970 | 955-980 | 885-1003 | 271 | 243-336 7- | 974 | 962-990 | 919-1050 | 251.3 | 150-330 7+ | 1000 | 980-1015 | 930-1085 | 295.6 | 235-375 --------+---------+----------+----------+---------+----------

A racer suddenly startled by close approach of a human usually flees at high speed. The first part of its course, up to 20 feet or more, is marked by a violent lateral thrashing of the body and tail, which may help the snake to gain speed, but which seem chiefly designed to draw attention of a potential attacker to the spot that the snake is leaving. In any event, the mode of progression abruptly changes to a swifter and much smoother travel, and the snake may seem to vanish completely or as it glides rapidly away, its course may be marked by the slowly waving tops of tall grass. The trend of travel away from the site of disturbance is in an irregularly zig-zag course. The method of crawling, with lateral undulations of the body, supported against scattered pivot-points along the way, tends to prevent the snake from moving more than a short distance in a straight line.

In checking traps along hilltop rock ledges in October, I have often flushed racers that had come to the ledges searching for hibernation dens. In such an instance the startled racer would usually dart away down the steep slope at unusually high speed, and within a few seconds might have covered 100 feet or more, progressing with a minimum of lateral undulations, and seeming to flow or coast over the ground surface with scarcely any effort. Although coursing downhill in this manner provided an effective method of escape, racers startled at the ledges or on other sloping ground sometimes followed a course parallel to the ledge, or even turned uphill, with disastrous slowing. Often I have accomplished capture by hand, by the strategy of running downhill to get below the escaping snake, causing it to turn back up the slope, there to be slowed to the extent that it could be overtaken.

A racer that has been flushed, and has disappeared after creating a commotion by its violent thrashing, may, within a period of minutes, return surreptitiously to the vicinity, gliding back slowly and silently from the direction opposite that in which it departed. It may climb into a tree or bush where, lying stretched on outer twigs and concealed in dense foliage, it will sometimes permit close approach, rather than reveal its presence by moving. If too much disturbed however, such a snake will move away, higher, or to the opposite side of the clump, with a slow and stealthy gliding motion which is likely to escape detection. The sudden stops and abrupt changes in direction make it difficult to follow the course of a climbing racer, even though it is moving slowly. The tendency to climb to escape danger seems to be especially strong in the western subspecies, _C. c. mormon_. In my years of experience with the racers in the chaparral belt of western Oregon and California, I found that one of the most characteristic responses to danger was to climb into a bush or low tree and seek concealment in the thick foliage. In most instances the snake was from one to eight feet above the ground; usually it did not attempt to climb high in a tree even when there was opportunity to do so. The racer's prowess as a climber is limited. In thick brush where its weight is supported by numerous stiff twigs simultaneously, it is at home and can travel rapidly, but it cannot cling effectively to rough bark of a vertical tree trunk as can the rat snakes (_Elaphe_ sp.) and others that are more specialized in their arboreal adaptations. Chaparral-type shrubs such as _Ceanothus cuneatus_ and _Arctostaphylos viscida_ were those in which western yellow-bellied racers were seen climbing most frequently. Crab-apple (_Pyrus ioensis_) and haw (_Crataegus_ sp.) were the shrubs most frequently utilized by blue racers on the Reservation. Carr (1950:80) noted that Florida racers were much less given to tree-climbing than were those of more northern regions. _C. c. stejnegerianus_ of southern Texas is reputed to have arboreal tendencies highly developed (Mulaik and Mulaik, 1942:14).

The racers kept in an outdoor enclosure in the summer of 1962 spent much of their time above the ground, climbing in several walnut saplings. Usually in the warmer part of the day three or four of the five racers in the pen were climbing. In the trees a racer usually lay extended or in a loose coil among foliage in the outer twigs, at a height of five to 12 feet. Such a snake might rest for hours in almost the same position. Racers do not ordinarily enter the water voluntarily, but they are swift and efficient swimmers when the need arises. On one occasion a large female, seen near the edge of the pond on the Reservation, and approached from the landward side, took to the water without hesitation and swam strongly to the opposite shore more than 100 feet away. Other observers have recorded similar incidents.

A racer that is suddenly startled at close range may make no attempt to escape, but instead may coil and perform slow writhing movements, with the head pressed to the ground and concealed beneath part of the body. Musk, exuding from the anus is spread over the body surface as the movements continue. Only a small percentage of the racers found free in their natural habitats reacted in the manner described. In each such instance, the circumstances were such that the racer was prevented from making its usual rapid getaway, either because temperature was unusually low for activity, or because the snake was away from suitable cover. After removal from a live-trap, with handling, and especially clipping of scales, racers were much more likely to behave in this passively defensive manner, which seemingly constitutes a second line of defense in snakes which have been prevented from escaping--either cornered, captured, or injured by a predator. The musk is creamlike in color and consistency, and is secreted from sausage-shaped glands in the base of the tail. Its odor is rather disagreeable, but less so than that of musks of various other genera. Also, it is less penetrating and lasting than many other musks. In handling the racers removed from traps I attempted to avoid being smeared with the musk by grasping the snake by the tail and neck and keeping its body stretched out. While the snake was being examined, and measured a droplet of musk would form at the anal orifice and would begin to flow down the snake's body. To avoid contact with the musk I would wipe away the droplet with a paper towel or leaf, but the musk droplet might be replaced several times within the few minutes that the snake was restrained.

A racer that is confronted with an object arousing its suspicion or indicating possible danger, may move away slowly with a characteristic "threat display." The forebody and neck are held rigid, well off the ground, and slightly arched, with the neck flattened in a vertical plane--causing this part of the snake to appear from lateral view larger than it actually is. The tongue is protruded frequently and waved slowly. A racer that has been disturbed and is trying to gain shelter in a direction that brings it closer to the danger usually will adopt this tense attitude, but a single threatening movement will cause it to abandon its circumspect pose, and panic in an attempt to reach the nearest shelter in the shortest possible time.

A common response to an alarm is to vibrate the tail. The tail being long and slender is vibrated much less rapidly than the short, muscular organ of a rattlesnake, or even the medium-short tail of a bull snake. The rapid twitching produces a characteristic sound in dry vegetation. A racer that vibrates its tail is fully active and aroused; the sound is heard as the snake pauses before it makes a dash for shelter. At times the sound probably functions as a decoy to distract the attention of potential predators, affording the racer an opportunity to escape.

A racer that is cornered or captured usually puts up a spirited struggle, striking vigorously and repeatedly at its tormentor. If only cornered, it will make slashing strokes at the enemy, jerking back to a coil from each stroke in a manner that causes the teeth to lacerate the enemy's skin in long scratches if the stroke finds its target. The rapid recoil often causes teeth to be jerked from their sockets and left embedded in the wound inflicted by the bite. On many occasions in sustaining a bite from a racer I have received such teeth which have remained undetected for a day or more until soreness and festering led to their discovery and removal. A racer that is grasped may deliver several bites within a few seconds, chewing vigorously to imbed its teeth to the maximum at each bite.

If grasped by the tail and held clear of the ground, the racer would swing its body with a rapid whirling and twisting motion, which in a few seconds would twist off the end of the tail, unless countermeasures were promptly taken. Many racers, especially the larger and older ones, have parts of the tail missing, as a result of such escapes, and perhaps also from freezing in hibernation or from certain injuries and infections. If grasped by the body, the racer struggles with a violent lateral thrashing to break the grip of its captor, at the same time striking to bite and discharging musk, urinary wastes and feces.

Many of the racers examined bore scars from wounds that were probably inflicted by predators. A few had survived severe skeletal injuries, involving deformation of the spinal column or extensive tearing of muscle and connective tissue layers of the body wall, altering the normal body shape. A more frequent type of injury involved chiefly the integument, which had been ripped open by the teeth, claws, or bills of adversaries, despite the fact that the skin is remarkably tough and leathery. Patches of scar tissue with scales in irregular sizes, shapes and patterns characterized such injuries. The most frequently observed type of injury involved loss of part of the tail. Usually only a small terminal part was missing, but occasional stub-tailed individuals had lost as much as three-fourths of the tail.

No consistent trend of difference between the sexes in incidence of injuries to the tail was noticeable, but there was definite correlation with age. In the entire sample from the Reservation and Rockefeller Tract the percentages in each supposed age group (actually size group) lacking part of the tail were as follows: hatchlings, 2.9 per cent; one-year-olds, 9.5 per cent; two-year-olds, 15.8 per cent; three-year-olds, 14.3 per cent; four-year-olds, 15.7 per cent; five-year-olds, 23.2 per cent; six-year-olds, 30.9 per cent; seven-year-olds, 28.9 per cent; those eight years old or older, 21.1 per cent. The seeming reversal of trend in the older racers is difficult to explain, but probably results from inadequate numbers in this part of the sample.

Although the racer's most characteristic response to any disturbance is to flee at high speed, certain individuals are inclined to behave aggressively under exceptional circumstances. Records of such aggressive behavior nearly all pertain to large individuals of the northeastern black racer (_C. c. constrictor_) in the breeding season. Cope (1900:794) wrote: "it is courageous and will sometimes attack, moving forward with the head raised from 1 to 2 feet above the ground." Ditmars (1944:13) wrote: "Occasional specimens in the breeding season ... will actually attack ... glide toward an intruder ... striking madly at one's feet or legs." Woods (1944:257) quoted a 13-year-old amateur herpetologist, Leon Gonthier, regarding the latter's encounter with an aggressive black racer on May 7, 1944, as follows: "When I ran toward the snake about 20 feet away, it turned and came for me. As I bent over to catch it, the snake grabbed me by the shirt and hung on ... held it off with a stick. It jumped twice more at me and came clear off the ground." Finneran (1948:124) describing the species' habits in Connecticut, stated: "A farmer ... constantly warned me away from Coon Ledge during the spring, saying the snakes were breeding and would 'chase you.' This very thing happened. In 1943 a blacksnake followed me for approximately ten feet, and, in 1946, a male aggressively attacked me for a period of three minutes. There was ample opportunity for escape."

_Natural Enemies_

Little has been published concerning the natural enemies of the common racer. The king snake (_Lampropeltis getulus_) is notorious for ophiphagy, and doubtless preys upon the racer at times. Wright and Bishop (1915:169) wrote of the king snake in Okefinokee Swamp, in Georgia, that "all the smaller snakes suffer, and of the larger species, the blacksnake [racer] and spreading adder are the commonest prey." However, Clark (1949:252) examined 301 stomachs of king snakes of this species in Louisiana and found no racers, although many other kinds of snakes were represented, and, collectively, made up the greater part of the food.

A rat snake (_Elaphe obsoleta_) found in Leon County, Florida, on June 10, 1924, had a racer in its stomach, according to the Patuxent food habits file of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A California garter snake (_Thamnophis elegans terrestris_) was found to have a juvenal racer in its stomach (Fitch, 1940:96). A large alligator lizard (_Gerrhonotus multicarinatus_) was found swallowing a small racer that had been confined with it in a bag (Fitch, 1935:12).

A few records of predation on blue racers by other reptiles on the Reservation and Rockefeller Tract were obtained. In 25 scats of the prairie king snake (_Lampropeltis calligaster_), there were 29 vertebrate prey items of which one was a blue racer. On September 15, 1962, an adult male prairie king snake 49-1/2 inches in length was found to have a 27-inch yearling racer in its stomach. In 254 scats of the slender glass lizard (_Ophisaurus attenuatus_) vertebrate remains were rare, but there were scales and bones of one hatchling blue racer. Among 21 vertebrate prey items in 14 scats of the timber rattlesnake (_Crotalus horridus_) there were remains of one blue racer. Among 589 prey items of copperheads there were two juvenal blue racers (Fitch, 1960:200). In contrast to these scarce records of racers in the prey of other snakes, there were more frequent records of the blue racer preying on its own young. The 1008 food items from 479 racer scats contained remains of 16 racers, small young in most instances.

Raptorial birds are known to be important predators on snakes. Breckenridge (1944:118) reported finding remains of a blue racer in the pellet of a marsh hawk (_Circus cyaneus_). Many pellets of the marsh hawk collected on the Reservation were all found during the colder half of the year, and they contained no remains of reptiles. The same seasonal restrictions applied to the many pellets of four species of owls that were collected, and these also lacked remains of reptiles. One of the predators whose food habits have been most thoroughly investigated on the area is the red-tailed hawk (_Buteo jamaicensis_). Over the period 1955 through 1962, 1131 pellets of these hawks were collected, many from the Reservation, but more from localities scattered throughout the eastern one-fourth of Kansas. The pellets were those of nestlings and fledglings, nearly all collected from beneath the nests, in late May, June, or early July. Some 49 different nests were represented, and remains of 43 blue racers were found. In one nest which yielded a total of 191 food items, racer remains occurred 13 times, but no other nest yielded records of more than three racers, and some other species of reptiles, notably the black rat snake (_Elaphe obsoleta_) comprised much more important components of the food. Since only one meal in 26 contained remains of racers, it seems that a red-tailed hawk would destroy only a few racers in the course of a year on its territory of perhaps half a square mile, and that its predation would not be a major factor in the racer's ecology.

That the red-tailed hawk is a natural enemy to be reckoned with throughout the racer's extensive range was demonstrated by the analysis of contents of 116 stomachs from localities well scattered over the United States and Canada. Among the 152 vertebrate prey items represented there were three racers: a juvenile _C. c. constrictor_ from Stag Lake, New Jersey, October 16, 1927; a _C. c. mormon_ from Weiser, Idaho, April 11, 1930, and a _C. c. stejnegerianus_ from San Roman, Cameron County, Texas, in the spring of 1938. Because of the widely scattered geographical origin of these stomachs, a remarkably large number of species of prey were represented, and no one species predominated. Small mammals of the genera _Sylvilagus_, _Spermophilus_, and _Thomomys_ comprised the most important component of the food; the only other reptile so well represented as the racer was the common garter snake (_Thamnophis sirtalis_) which likewise had three occurrences.

In June and July, 1954, a nest of broad-winged hawks (_Buteo platypterus_) on the Reservation yielded 71 prey items of which seven were blue racers. At least 19 species of prey were represented, although specific determinations were not possible in some instances. The prairie vole with eight records was the most frequent prey, and the racer and cardinal (nestlings) each had seven, while all other species were represented by fewer occurrences. Six of the racers were first-year young but the remaining one was thought to be an undersized second-year individual. Although an adult racer, especially a large one, would probably be an adversary too powerful to be killed and eaten by a broad-winged hawk, this hawk is perhaps one of the more important natural enemies of the first-year young in the eastern United States.

Further records of predation on racers by raptors were obtained from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service files through the kindness of Dr. Wm. H. Stickel. There were three records of such predation by red-shouldered hawks (_Buteo lineatus_) from Lunenberg, Massachusetts, May 1, 1896; Portland, Maine, March 16, 1906; and 65 miles northeast of Sarasota, Florida, June 10, 1918. There were two records of predation by broad-winged hawks from Catlettsburg, Kentucky, July 26, 1910, and Portland, Connecticut, May 18, 1912. There were four records of predation by marsh hawks on racers--Peck's Island, Maine, September 18, 1903; Edgartown, Massachusetts, April 12, 1912; West [Tisbury?], Massachusetts, July 31, 1912; and Okanagan Landing, British Columbia, June 5, 1918. A sparrow hawk (_Falco sparverius_) from De Ranch, Wyoming, May 27, 1910, had eaten a racer, as had a barn owl (_Tyto alba_), from Franklin County, Kansas, November 16, 1922, and a crow (_Corvus brachyrhynchos_, nestling) from Onaga, Kansas, May 16, 1914.

Perhaps certain mammalian predators are even more important natural enemies than are raptorial birds, but records of predation on racers by mammals are few. Substantial samples of scats of opossums and coyotes from the Reservation have contained no remains of racers. The Fish and Wildlife Service files include a record of an opossum from Adrian, Michigan, on April 26, 1934, that had racer remains in its stomach. No racers were specifically recorded from a collection of 820 scats and 22 stomachs of raccoons (_Procyon lotor_) from Douglas County, Kansas, reported upon by Stains (1956:43), but occurrences of unidentified snake may have pertained in part to the racer. Skunks are probably more important natural enemies, but food habits data from the Reservation are lacking for the two kinds of skunks occurring there. Crabb (1941:356) in a study of the food habits of the spotted skunk (_Spilogale putorius_) in southeastern Iowa, did not report any reptiles among the many kinds of prey found in scats. Several times in many years of residence near Medford, Jackson County, Oregon, I saw remains of racers which appeared to be victims of striped skunks (_Mephitis mephitis_). Tracks and other sign of the skunks were often noticed along a little-used road on a hillside, passing between a pasture and a hay field, with an oak grove, high weeds, and brush, bordering the road. The racers sometimes found as victims along this road were small- or medium-sized individuals. In every instance the predator had begun eating on the tail end of the snake, and later had abandoned the remains leaving the head and part of the forebody still intact. Predation had occurred at night. Skunks foraging mostly in twilight or darkness, probably find racers inactive beneath flat rocks or in shallow burrows. The skunks would be too slow and clumsy to catch the snakes in the open when they were fully active.

The funnel traps used for catching the racers also caught many other kinds of animals. Often a racer and another kind of snake were caught together, but, ordinarily, in these instances no damage to either resulted, although racers, copperheads, king snakes, and garter snakes are all known to eat each other's young. At times, large predatory ground beetles (_Calosoma scrutator_ and _Pasimachus_ sp.) were so abundant that a dozen or more were caught together in a trap, and several times such groups attacked and killed and partly ate young racers caught in the same traps. White-footed mice (_Peromyscus leucopus_), deer mice (_P. maniculatus_), harvest mice (_Reithrodontomys megalotis_), short-tailed shrews (_Blarina brevicauda_), and least shrews (_Cryptotis parva_) all were caught rather frequently in the traps, and each, on one or more occasions, gnawed and killed or severely injured a racer trapped with it. The attacks probably were motivated by hunger in all instances, the snake in some instances failing to defend itself or escape because of low temperature. Occasionally such encounters might occur even under natural conditions, the mouse or shrew finding and attacking the snake while the latter was torpid and helpless in its hibernaculum or in a more superficial temporary shelter.

_Disease_