DESCRIPTION: The San Francisco garter snake has been dubbed "the most beautiful serpent in North America." It is slender and multi-colored, with a reddish-orange head and red, black, and blue racing stripes on its sides and back. It's harmless to humans and extremely shy, hard to see, and quick to flee when disturbed. It hides among bankside vegetation such as cattails and spike rushes. When it isn't hunting, it basks in the sun.It's preferred prey is the California Red-Legged Frog, which is also an endangered species. In the warm months of Fall and Spring, adults snakes sometimes enter a dormant state like hibernation, in small mammal burrows. Some inland snakes are known to be active year round, foraging at night when it is cooler. The snakes mate in the spring or autumn and females give birth to an average of 16 live young in June through September.

HABITAT: Coastal and bayside wetlands and densely vegetated ponds near an open hillside.

THREATS: The snake's habitat has been hit hard by agricultural, residential, commercial, and recreational development.

SOLUTIONS:Restore critical habitat at Sharp Park in Pacifica by making it a National Park.

Unnar Karl 5th grade