TIMBER RATTLESNAKE RECOVERY PROGRAM The timber rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus horridus, is a species of snake now extinct in Rhode Island. The Timber rattlesnakes territories have declined from 31 states to just 27 states which has resulted in it being listed an endangered species in several states. The RWPZ has long been a champion of these unloved animals in peril and spearheaded a program at the zoo in 2010 to work on the recovery of this endangered snake species.
Since the program started, RWPZ has joined New England biologists and conservationists in a collaborative regional effort created to save the remaining timber rattlesnake populations in our area. It is believed that a protected genetic reservoir from the most threatened populations in the northeast should be established in human care until a solid conservation initiative develops. This involves head-starting as well as addressing the fungal dermatitis problem. With the staff and facility available to help, RWPZ agreed to receive and hold Timber Rattlesnakes from endangered New England populations. Human fear is the greatest threat to the timber rattlesnake and today they have been completely extirpated from Maine, Rhode Island, central New Hampshire, most of Vermont, Long Island, eastern and northern Ohio, and probably from Michigan and possibly from Delaware. This serious concern is multiplied by the fact that since 2009, timber rattlesnakes from separate populations in eastern, central, and western Massachusetts have been found to have significant disease identified as fungal dermatitis. This disease has been previously documented by scientists as a cause of morbidity and mortality in both captive and free-ranging viperidae snakes. Starting in 2014 the RWPZ veterinary and
conservation departments in partnership with state biologists finished a two-year federally funded study doing research to learn more about the fungus and to try to determine how prevalent the fungus is in New England Populations. To date, the zoo and partners have demonstrated success in the release of headstarted individuals, the first of its kind for this species in New England and continue to do so. This work was featured on “Ocean Mysteries” with Jeff Corwin in November 2014. Currently, nine states (including all New England states) and the Province of Ontario offer the timber rattlesnake some form of protection, listing it as threatened or endangered, or having a restricted or notake policy. Fifteen other states have regulations that protect some or all herpetofauna and therefore the timber rattlesnake by default.
Published in the Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens, 2022, “Head-Starting and Conservation of Endangered Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus horridus) at Roger Williams Park Zoo”, written by Gabriel Montague. 14
