Fort Worth Zoo helps release endangered snakes in Louisiana – NBC Dallas (39)

The Fort Worth Zoo joined a team of researchers in releasing dozens of pine snakes into a national forest in an attempt to revive its population.

Officials at the Fort Worth Zoo said 50 snakes were released in the Kisatchie National Forest on April 22, Earth Day. Of the 50, 23 were born at the zoo, which is one of only four breeding centers for this species.

The launch was a partnership between the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Forest Service, the Alexandria Zoo and the Memphis Zoo.

The juvenile snakes were safely placed in tunnels where pocket gophers, the main prey for snakes, live in the Louisiana forest, the Memphis Zoo said. The researchers hope that the snakes will reproduce effectively, which will help increase the population of the species in the wild.

The Louisiana pine snake is native to the longleaf pine forests of Louisiana and Texas.

According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Louisiana pine snake is a non-venomous constrictor that generally grows between 4 and 5 feet long. Studies in East Texas and West Louisiana showed that snakes spend most of their time underground.

It happened in Nicaragua. Look the photos.

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