Status
California state status: "Special Concern"
This snake continues to be highly prized among collectors (S. Barry, R. Fisher, and B. McGurty, pers. comm.) despite prohibitions on collecting or selling it in California (Nicola 1981, California Fish and Game Commission 1990). The only individuals that can be possessed are those that were in possession of their owners prior to when the prohibition on collection regulations were implemented. Currently, this taxon is mentioned for sale in some reptile fancier lists at $250.00 per snake (pers. observ.); such a demand undoubtedly fuels a black market trade for this taxon among collectors. In addition, McGurty (1988) provided data for a single locality in San Diego County suggesting a local decline in L. z. pulchra that he attributes to overcollecting of this taxon. Since no obvious habitat change has occurred at this site (B. McGurty, pers. comm.), the interpretation McGurty provided may be correct. McGurty (1988) also cites the destruction of local habitat by overzealous collectors (the dismantling of outcrops and the shredding of logs and stumps), especially in San Diego County, as reasons for this taxon's decline (see also Newton and Smith 1975). Rock-chipping for this taxon as well as for selected lizards was a problem that was recognized over 15 years ago, and continues to be a problem in certain local areas despite the fact that altering habitat in this way is prohibited under current regulations by both State and Federal land management and resource agencies. Illegal fuelwood harvesting also adds to the problem of habitat alteration (McGurty 1988). While McGurty (1988) pointed out a problem with caprock removal and other forms of "rock-chipping," it is now known that those alterations did not affect the survival of the snakes. Currently, L. z. pulchra continues to be found in those areas of alteration, even utilizing the disturbed rocks, which now lay on the ground and create additional (if different) places for thermo-regulation (Hubbs, 2004). Today, McGurty (pers. comm.) admits that the rocks are not central to the survival of the species, but merely a convenient place for thermo-regulation. When small rock structure is absent, the snakes simply thermo-regulate in burrows or under rocks that are too large to move.
Despite the illegal collection of up to a hundred individuals of this taxon in San Diego County each year, the sheer abundance of this snake in that area (Hubbs, 2004 estimates 15,000 individuals within the favored collecting area alone) and the small number of optimum days for such collection (approximately 10 - 15 per year) has allowed for a continued population to exist and thrive. Those who have monitored the area for over 20 years (since the original commercial collection took place in the 1970s) have seen no significant depletion in snakes, however there has actually been a small increase in numbers (Hubbs, 2004). While certain, easily collected sites exist in San Diego County, the vast majority of this snake's range and habitat are unaffected by collectors due to different habitat makeup (i.e. chaparral, coastal sage, sandstone, oak-woodland, and large riparian zones with little searchable habitat). The current estimate is that nearly 2,000,000 of these snakes exist within all the habitat they occupy in southern California, and in light of the DNA analysis by Rodriguez-Robles (1999) which lumps L. z. pulchra with L. z. parvirubra, the probable population exceeds 5 million snakes. Most of those serpents live within terrain that is roadless and inaccessible to collectors. Therefore, the protection of this taxon based on fears of over-collection is unfounded (Hubbs, 2004). A better system would be to protect the two populations in San Diego County that are at greatest risk from over-collection, or place a small bag-limit on the subspecies and encourage captive-breeding by hobbyists to supply those who wish to own L. z. pulchra. This would remove the need for illegal collection of wild snakes, and quickly reduce the value of the serpents as more and more become available in the form of captive-bred offspring. That program has worked well for the Rosy Boa and California Kingsnake (Hubbs, 2004).
Read more about this topic: San Diego Mountain Kingsnake
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