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Article: With population below 2,000 in 1999, water snake returns
- Article from:
- Dayton Daily News
- Article date:
- October 23, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2006 Dayton Daily News. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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ty of snakes, Stanford said. The hatred directed toward the snake
was misconceived, she told residents.
First, the nonvenomous snake is harmless to humans. Second, it's a
predator of the round goby, a fast-spreading bottom-dwelling fish
that looks like a tadpole. The round goby needs predators because it
is a pest that wound up in the lake after it hitched a ride in the
ballast of a ship from Europe. Gobies devour fish eggs from native
species such as smallmouth bass, threatening sport fisheries.
"The water snake is now eating gobies almost exclusively,"
Stanford said proudly. Perceptions have changed. State wildlife
experts now emphasize boat dock construction that is more snake- ...