These snakes were captive bred and hatched at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens’ Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation.
Forty one captive bred Eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi) were released into the Nature Conservancy’s Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve (ABRP) today as part of a collaborative effort to bolster the wild populations in the preserve. This release marks the eighth consecutive year that Eastern indigo snakes have been released into the preserve. Today’s release comprised 20 female and 21 male snakes. These snakes were captive bred and hatched at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens’ Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation (OCIC). They were then raised at the Welaka National Fish Hatchery. They were then released at around 2 years of age.
Dr. James Bogan of OCIC and an Eastern indigo snake 3 – 4.30.24 – credit The Nature Conservancy in Florida.
In 2023, two wild-born hatchlings that are the offspring of previously released Eastern indigo snakes were observed in the preserve, which points to the success of the program. One female that was released in 2019 and 13 other snakes released between 2020 and 2023 have also been observed in the preserve, according to the Nature Conservancy.
An Eastern indigo snake enters a gopher tortoise burrow at The Nature Conservancy’s Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve on April 30, 2024. Photo by Florida FWC.
The Nature Conservancy, in conjunction with the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens’ Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Welaka National Fish Hatchery, The Orianne Society, Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Southern Company through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, set out more than eight years ago to repopulate the species in the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve. In total, 167 Eastern indigo snakes have been released into the preserve.
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“We continue our collective dedication to the species recovery effort for the eastern indigo snake as we embark on this eighth year of introductions at TNC’s Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve,” Catherine Ricketts, ABRP Preserve Manager with The Nature Conservancy in Florida said in a statement released to the media. “Finding the two juvenile indigos onsite last fall is another significant indicator that the 40-plus years of habitat restoration and management work at ABRP is recreating a functional longleaf pine-wiregrass sandhill ecosystem that benefits imperiled species like the indigos.”
“As we complete our eighth annual indigo release at ABRP, joy—with a touch of pride—fills my being. It is wonderful to see these young indigos have the opportunity to fill their important role as a lynchpin species in the longleaf pine ecosystem,” Dr. James E Bogan Jr., Director of Central Florida Zoo’s Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation said in the press release. “With the recent news of the indigo hatchling discovery at ABRP, we can see that our combined efforts are paving the way toward the ultimate goal of a self-sustaining wild indigo population.”
Eastern Indigo Snake Information
The Eastern indigo snake is the longest native snake in the United States, sometimes reaching more than 8 feet in length. The snake is a federally threatened species and certain restrictions are in place with regard to possessing them. A member of the Colubridae family, indigo snakes feed on a variety of animals, including small mammals, amphibians, birds, lizards, baby turtles, and other snakes, including every species of venomous snake found in Florida.
The snake was historically found in southern Georgia, Alabama, eastern Mississippi and throughout much of Florida, but was largely extirpated from the ABRP due to habitat loss and fragmentation. The last sighting of an Eastern indigo in the ABRP prior to these latest release efforts occurred in 1982. The Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve is the only area designated by the state for the introduction of the indigo snake. In 2022, a wild-hatched Eastern indigo snake was found in Georgia’s Conecuh National Forest, marking the second time in 60 years that a wild specimen was observed in the wild.
