Islanders are being asked to help track the rare smooth greensnake this summer

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 28, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

If you spot a creaseless greensnake successful the chaotic connected Prince Edward Island this summer, the province's Forests, Fish and Wildlife Division wants to perceive from you.

Officials are hoping to stitchery information connected the elusive reptile, which is considered the rarest snake connected the Island.

The creaseless greensnake is harmless and typically lives successful grassy fields, successful unfastened woodlands and connected the edges of wetlands. 

But small is known astir its colonisation oregon whether it's astatine hazard connected P.E.I., said Julie-Lynn Zahavich, a wood conservation specializer with the province, fixed that the taxon has ne'er been formally studied connected the Island.

"Knowing wherever the taxon are and what situation they're utilizing is the archetypal measurement to being capable to assistance conserve a species. So it's truly important that we fig retired those cardinal puzzle pieces that we tin enactment things together," Zahavich told CBC's Island Morning.

"In the future, if things change — you know, with clime alteration oregon if insect populations spell down — we'll beryllium capable to cognize what we had before, truthful that we cognize if we've mislaid the species, we tin enactment connected that."

Bright greenish and hard to miss

Zahavich said the creaseless greensnake is astir 30 to 50 centimetres agelong and, arsenic the sanction suggests, has a vivid greenish back. Its underside oregon belly is typically whitish oregon yellowish.

It's besides the lone egg-laying snake connected the Island. The different 2 commonly seen species, the garter snake and the red-bellied snake, springiness commencement to unrecorded young.

The smooth greensnake is casual to separate from those 2 species. Garter snakes are larger and tin beryllium much than a metre long, and person a brownish oregon grey backmost with stripes. Red-bellied snakes person a acheronian backmost and a vibrant reddish belly.

Though the smooth greensnake whitethorn wound if it feels threatened, Zahavich said it is not venomous.

"They're precise small, and the wound is not going to wounded you," she said.

How Islanders tin help

Zahavich said the part is hoping Islanders tin assistance stitchery information connected the taxon by snapping a photograph if they hap to spot 1 of the snakes.

"Make enactment of the situation that they're using... whether you're connected a tract oregon adjacent a wetland oregon an unfastened woodland," she said.

People are besides being asked to usage their telephone to get the GPS co-ordinates of the location or cheque Google Maps for a consciousness of wherever they were erstwhile they saw the snake.

Photos and determination accusation tin beryllium submitted to the Forests, Fish and Wildlife Division via Facebook, by email oregon by phone. Submissions are being accepted passim the summer, erstwhile the snakes are active.

The part is besides funny successful proceeding astir historical sightings.

"If you retrieve seeing them arsenic a kid oregon galore years ago, we'd besides emotion to perceive astir that," Zahavich said.

As well, Islanders tin upload photos and sightings to the iNaturalist app, which helps researchers stitchery information for technological and conservation purposes. Zahavich said her squad is monitoring the level for creaseless greensnake sightings connected P.E.I.

While nationalist reports are key, Zahavich said her squad is besides doing its ain monitoring. Next year, they anticipation to grow their efforts crossed much parts of the state and perchance enactment with watershed groups and different organizations that tin assistance way down much sightings of the reptiles.