A local snake expert is looking to ease concerns over reports of an uptick in the number of snake sightings.
Steve Marks, with the Essex County Naturalist Club, says there are no more than usual — in fact if anything there are fewer.
The herpetologist says the region has two of the rarest snake species in the world as both the Massasauga Rattler and the Eastern Fox snakes find homes in Essex County.
He says the Massasauga Rattler especially is in an extremely precarious position.
"All of southwestern Ontario is a huge area and we only have one population of Masassaugas left," says Marks. "It does happen to be in LaSalle and there's a conservation team working hard to try to preserve that population, but right now the belief is that population if you want to call it that it's more like a family, they're down to about eight or 10 individuals."
Marks says the Eastern Fox Snake is pretty much limited to the region.
"We see a lot of them around here, but it's kind of like going to a single spot in China and seeing a lot of Pandas, it doesn't mean they're doing well anywhere else they actually aren't — 70% of the world's Fox Snakes, Eastern Fox Snakes, live in Essex County."
In terms of the snake population, Marks says there are only four significant natural areas left in Essex County for snakes to find homes.
"The Ojibway Complex is the largest and the healthiest and most diverse," says Marks. "Point Pelee National Park is of course a famous one, Big Creek Natural Area and Cedar Creek, those little areas round out what's left of nature in Essex County there's not a lot. I think we're dealing with 6% or 7% natural cover."
Outside of southwestern Ontario, the Massasauga Rattler is found in the French River area in northern Ontario.