638 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE 



The favorite haunt of the garter snakes is the margin of a shallow 

 pool with gently sloping shores and bottom, a pool bordered closely by a 

 dense stand of grass or other low plants. In such places these snakes often 

 abound. Five were noted close together on the shore of one small pond 

 near Tuolumne Meadows on July 6, 1915, and greater numbers have been 

 seen in other localities. Such a place gives the snakes an easy retreat 

 into the grass on one side and into the water on the other, while food in 

 the form of frogs, tadpoles, or small fishes is usually to be obtained close 

 by. When undisturbed the snakes will spend much of the day in sunning 

 themselves on the shores of such a pool. 



When it takes to water a garter snake swims readily, with only its head 

 above the surface, making progress by whipping the body from side to 

 side in broad loops. At best its speed is slow, not to be compared with 

 that of any of the fishes, and after going a short distance it will usually 

 rest momentarily before resuming its course. When resting in shallow 

 water it will allow its body to sink to the bottom and wall hold only its 

 head above the surface ; but in a deeper stream or pool it will glide up to 

 the margin and rest its chin on a projecting ledge or log. On land as 

 w^ell as in water these snakes are slow movers, that is, for snakes. The form 

 of the scales on the under surface of their bodies, and the musculature 

 by which the free edges of these scales are lifted, do not seem to be adapted 

 for rapid travel such as is exhibited by the racers. The garter snakes make 

 their best progress when in a meadow, for there the scales get more of a 

 purchase on the irregularities of the grass and sod. 



The garter snakes are not belligerent, rarely if ever will they 'show 

 fight' as do gopher snakes or rattlers. Even when harried they usually 

 try to slip quietly off into the grass or swim away in the w'ater. If cap- 

 tured, a garter snake will as a rule pour out a malodorous liquid that is 

 effective in procuring its release, especially if its captor be a human being. 

 How much of a protection from wild enemies this odor affords, is not known. 



Garter snakes have large litters of young. Rarely are there less than 

 10 or a dozen, and litters of 20 and more are not uncommon. The rapidity 

 of its reproduction probably reflects the degree of danger to wdiich these 

 reptiles are exposed. The eggs of Garter Snakes are not deposited on 

 land and left to hatch unattended, as are those of many snakes, but are 

 retained in the body of the female and developed there, and the young 

 are born alive. 



These snakes do not usually have to go far from their favorite haunts 

 to find food, as they feed to a large extent on frogs, toads, tadpoles, and 

 small fishes. The relative scarcity of frogs in certain meadows and along 

 some of the slower moving streams, and their unusual abundance in some 

 of the highest mountain lakes and along the swifter creeks, may perhaps 



