Fight is on to save snakes in a house
By Barbara Bell
Special to the Tribune
Published August 19, 2006
Later this month, dozens of fox snakes will begin slithering toward an old house in Lake Villa Township. They'll glide through holes in the foundation, coil up inside cement blocks or lie on joists on the basement ceiling and snooze until spring.
The owners have long tolerated this annual scene, reminiscent of something Indiana Jones would confront in one of his adventures. But rapid urbanization in the area means the house could very well be sold and torn down, leaving the snakes nowhere to go to keep from freezing.
One good bulldozer would destroy the whole population," said Michael Corn, a herpetologist who has spent 10 years studying the approximately 200 snakes that visit the house. He says it's time the reptiles stop being squatters and start being homeowners.
Corn, the retired dean of the biology department at the College of Lake County, is working with environmental groups to raise enough money to essentially buy the house for the snakes.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0608190104aug19,1,7491750.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true