Researchers seek public help tracking rubber boas on Vancouver Island

Scientists at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops are asking the public to help solve a snake mystery on Vancouver Island.

Researchers are in the final year of a two-year project to understand the rubber boa's distribution across British Columbia. Though there have been unverified sightings in the Nanoose and Parksville area, no photo evidence of the snake exists on the Island yet, according to Tirzah Robinson, part of the research team, who posted a callout for help on July 2.

Rubber boas are uniformly dark olive green or brown with small eyes and pale orange-yellow bellies. Their name comes from small, smooth scales that give their skin a rubbery appearance.

The project marks the first intensive study of its kind — smaller studies were done in the late 1990s. Little is known about the boa's range in B.C., the only place in Canada where it's found. Maria Collins, a project researcher and master's student at Thompson Rivers, explained why public help matters: "It's very easy to not see the animal and destroy the habitat unknowingly. It's very sensitive to human activity because we can't see the snake and it's very easy to just scoop up a bunch of dirt, not know, and then you've just wiped out a local population of them."

Juvenile snakes are particularly vulnerable because of their small size — resembling a large earthworm — and the fact they take a long time to reach sexual maturity.

Photos and information from the public will help researchers build a database on the snake's range and population stability, which will support potential protection and ranking decisions by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Anyone who spots a rubber boa should not handle it, but instead note the date, time, and location, take a photo, and send the information to bcboa@tru.ca or submit online at bcreptilesandamphibians.ca/bc-boa-project.