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.
This snake was near Sweathouse Creek in the Bitterroot Mountains April 19, 2009.
Class Reptiles ReptiliaFamily Boas BoidaeOrder Lizards and Snakes SquamataPhylum Vertebrates CraniataRavalli Co.Species Rubber Boa Charina bottae
