Would whoever is dumping their dead snakes on Mount Seymour please find a better location?
A group of mountain bikers recently stumbled on four deceased pythons near the third switchback on Mount Seymour Road, according to conservation officer Simon Gravel. BC Parks staff removed the carcasses.
“They were pretty old and decomposing. They were dead for some time,” Gravel said. “Because they were all together at the same location, it appeared they were just dumped there.”
There’s no indication as to how the snakes died and Gravel said there are no suspects, however, pet owners should not be ditching dearly departed friends in the woods, he added.
“You definitely cannot dump dead animals in the park close to the road,” he said.
Dumping dead pets turns them into attractants for other animals that conservation officers work to reduce conflicts with – like bears and cougars. Most transfer stations are equipped to take dead pets, Gravel said.
Several live ball pythons were found slithering around Burnaby Mountain this summer. It is assumed they were dumped by an owner who no longer wanted them.
The Reptile Rescue, Adoption and Education Society in Richmond will take in unwanted snakes and attempts to adopt them out.
Anyone who sees a non-native species slithering through the bush is encouraged to call the province’s hotline for conservation officers at 1-877-952-7277.
