KCRL PhD students participate in first successful translocation of narrow-headed garter snakes

A fantastic collaborative conservation effort among AZGFD, Phoenix Zoo, USFWS, NAU, and the University of Arizona is underway!

On August 17th, the first translocation of captive bred narrow-headed gartersnakes was performed by a collaborative team of conservation experts, including KCRL PhD students Brian Blais and Stuart Wells (Stuart is also the Director of Conservation and Science at the Phoenix Zoo). This occasion marks the first time that the species has been released in the wild from a captive breeding program, and is a big step toward the recovery of the species. Brian will be monitoring these snakes post release (using radio telemetry) to understand space use, habitat needs, diet, survival and more – all of which we know very little.

Way to go team!

Garter snake release team. Photo by George Andrejko/AZGFD

Narrow-headed garter snake. Photo by Amy Burnett/AZGFD