Snakes in Suburb of Illinois Scaring Residents: Thousands Come Out of Hibernation at Once
Snakes in the suburbs of Naperville, Illinois have been frightening the residents as they come out of hibernation all at once. Thousands of the reptiles have been appearing in bushes, in yards, on porches and patios of those in the western suburbs, according to reports.
The snakes in the suburbs are mostly garter snakes and water snakes, city officials said, but because four different kinds of venomous snakes live in Illinois— two different rattlesnakes can be found in the Midwest— many residents are scared to get too close.
"I'll have five and six of them on my bushes," Nancy Quigley told CBS news. "They were twice as big as they were last year. They're not afraid of me anymore."
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She isn't the only one very concerned— Quigley said that even her delivery man "[drops] the package and [runs] back to his truck."
The garter and water snakes usually come out to feed for the summer, so their presence in the community isn't strange. It's the number of snakes that has residents concerned, and experts believe that the heavy rain in the area has contributed to all the reptiles around.
"It's unusual for them to be out and that prevalent," David Drake, a snake expert at Aquarium Adventure, explained to CBS. "Now they're out feeding in larger numbers. Also the recent rains and the floods are gonna drive these animals out of their [burrow].
Drake also said that the polar vortex could have contributed to the high incidences of snakes in Naperville.
