Coral snake found in wilds of central Alabama

ROCKFORD, Ala. (AP) — A rare coral snake has been found in the wilds of central Alabama.

Nick Sharp, a biologist with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, was checking on red-cockaded woodpecker habitat in a longleaf pine forest in Coosa County when he saw the brilliant colors of the coral snake — alternating bands of red, yellow and black.

“It was just crossing on the ground in front of me and I said ‘Holy cow, that is a coral snake!‘“ Sharp told The Birmingham News in a story Monday. “I might have said something other than ‘cow.‘“

The snake is rare, especially north of Alabama’s Coastal Plain, where it is seen infrequently.

The coral snake is a relative of the cobra and sea snake and has the most toxic venom of any North Amnerican snake.

According to several biologists, the last documented reports of a coral snake in the central Alabama region — one each from Coosa, Bibb, and Talladega — are more than 40 years old.

The long-leaf pine forest, with its well-drained soil, was a likely place to see one.

Sharp said he guided the snake into his backpack in order for colleagues to get a tissue sample, then the snake was released back into the wild.

Habitat loss and fire ants — which can kill coral snakes — are cited as factors that threaten them.

“They are probably on the decline,“ said Mark Bailey, a private conservation biologist who helped take the tissue sample. “The habitat has dwindled so much.“