After 8 months of hibernation, all of red-sided garter snakes in Narcisse, Canada crawl out of their dens. It happens during the last week of April and their numbers grow until the second week of May. The reason is simple. They are all coming out to mate.
Like all other snakes, red-sided garters are cold-blooded. During the winter, when the temperatures drop to below freezing, they hibernate for eight months.
Manitoba, Canada, is laced with sinkholes that line its superficial limestone bedrock. Underground dens form here, attracting the snakes, who see them as the ideal spots for an eight-month snooze.
But space is limited. Thousands of snakes end up in dens as large as an average living room.
Once spring arrives, thousands of the the red-sided garters slither over one another to emerge from their lairs, forming a carpet of quivering snakes.
It's also peak breeding time. The males eagerly look for a female to mate with in the areas surrounding the dens.
Like all other snakes, red-sided garters are cold-blooded. During the winter, when the temperatures drop to below freezing, they hibernate for eight months.
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