U.S. Government Issues Warning to Drivers Over Snakes: 'Be on the Lookout'

With North America's snake season now fully underway, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has sent out a warning to drivers.

"The sun's out and so are cold-blooded critters who occasionally like to sunbathe on warm roads," the service said in a Facebook post. "Please drive slowly and brake for snakes (and their friends) [and] be on the lookout as you're enjoying the great outdoors."

The post, which has received thousands of likes, shows a series of photos of cold-blooded creatures lying in the middle of a tarmac road in Modoc National Wildlife Refuge in California.

The refuge occupies 7,021 acres on the western edge of the Great Basin in northeastern California. The refuge consists of wetlands, reservoirs, grasslands and cropland habitats and is home to hundreds of different species.

Unlike humans, reptiles cannot generate their own body heat and must therefore maintain their body temperature from their surroundings. While this means that they do not have to waste their energy on staying warm, they often have to make themselves vulnerable to get enough sunlight.

Gray and black paved roads absorb a lot of heat from the sun—as anyone who has ever walked on one in bare feet will know—which makes them a particularly appealing sunbathing spot for reptiles. However, what they don't know is that a vehicle hurtling toward them at 40 miles per hour could steamroll them at any moment.

Over the winter, cold-blooded creatures usually hide in burrows and dens to wait out the cold weather. But as spring begins, it is not uncommon to find them basking out in the open, which can make them vulnerable to predators and accidents.

One of the creatures shown in the Fish and Wildlife Service's post is a western pond turtle, California's only native species of freshwater turtle. The species is listed as endangered in Washington state, and its populations are in decline elsewhere.

Although the thought of snakes might send a shiver down your spine, they play a very important role in their surrounding ecosystems, keeping pest populations, like mice and rats, under control. It is therefore important to preserve their populations too.

In response to the Fish and Wildlife Service's post, dozens of users have shared their stories about finding snakes and other cold-blooded creatures on the roads in their local area.

"When we lived in Virginia, we moved a lot of turtles out of the road. The snapping turtles were less cooperative than the others," said one user.

"I brake for snakes and turtles, and stop and relocate them to whatever side of the road they are facing," said another user, who is from Ohio.

Should you ever help turtles cross the road, the Fish and Wildlife Service advises moving them to the side of the road they were heading toward and not picking them up by the tail.