Rudy Mancke helps a listener identify a snake they found under some plywood in their yard.
Transcript (edited for clarity):
RUDY MANCKE:
Hi, this is Rudy Mancke from USC for NatureNotes.
Elizabeth in Traveler's Rest, SC, turned over some plywood, saw a snake, and was wondering what in heaven's name it was. Took me a while to figure this one out. It's a dark color phase, of what's called a mole snake or a mole kingsnake.
They burrow in the ground, that's the reason for the name. Feed on small vertebrates, they're non venomous constrictors. You don't see them a lot on the surface. They hide under things, and they're also very good burrowers.
One of the true kingsnakes, so mole kingsnake is probably is the perfect name for it.
