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The Narcisse Snake Dens are super cool! These dens are home to an estimated 75,000 to 150,000 red-sided garter snakes, the largest gathering of snakes in the world!

Each fall, the snakes descend into deep, dark limestone dens for the winter. The limestone bedrock was formed by the skeletons of ancient marine creatures, such as shells and coral, around 450 million years ago. The area gradually transformed into karst topography, with deep fissures and underground chambers formed when rainwater dissolved weaknesses in the limestone. These chambers often collapse in on themselves as sinkholes, allowing snakes access to an extensive labyrinth several metres below the surface. The snakes’ paths have been worn smooth by thousands of snakes sliding along these routes for thousands of years. The snakes fill every nook and cranny, with up to 10,000 snakes occupying each den. The snakes pile on top each other, generating just enough heat to survive the long winter.

As temperatures begin to rise in spring, the snakes emerge from their dens to begin their mating frenzy, which lasts one to three weeks. The snakes form mating balls - writhing masses of snakes, each consisting of one large female snake surrounded by up to one hundred smaller male snakes. The strongest, most persistent males have the best chance of fertilizing the females’ eggs. The females often mate with multiple males during the breeding season. Shortly after mating, the snakes fan out into the grassland. When temperatures cool again in the fall, those that survived return to the dens for another winter.