Rubber Boa - Charina Bottae
Montana’s rubber boa is the northernmost relative of the giant boa constrictor and anaconda of South America. Like those snakes, it kills prey by squeezing it to death with its muscular body and swallows the meal whole (from Montana FWP site).
About the photos on the rock (taken Oct 9, 2011), the snake was about two feet long (typical size). It looks like the head is in the air on the right, but that is the tail. The head is on the left tucked under the body, a typical defensive posture. They are beautiful and harmless to us. Taken on my hike west of Victor, Montana south of Sweathouse Creek on a ridge in the Bitterroot Mountains.
Read MoreAbout the photos on the rock (taken Oct 9, 2011), the snake was about two feet long (typical size). It looks like the head is in the air on the right, but that is the tail. The head is on the left tucked under the body, a typical defensive posture. They are beautiful and harmless to us. Taken on my hike west of Victor, Montana south of Sweathouse Creek on a ridge in the Bitterroot Mountains.
Taken July 5, 2011 near O'Brien Creek in Missoula, Co. with my naturalist class with the Montana Natural History Center.
Class Reptiles ReptiliaFamily Boas BoidaeMissoula Co.Missoula CountyNaturalist ClassO'Brien CreekOrder Lizards and Snakes SquamataPhylum Vertebrates CraniataSpecies Rubber Boa Charina bottae
