to maintain that treaty, which means that our role is to be paying attention
to the plants and animals and what they’re doing. A big part of that
treaty was understanding that human beings are one of the most recent
species here and that we should be learning from our ecological elders –
the animals – which have lived here far longer and have acquired great
adaptations for surviving and thriving here.”
Ryan is constantly out in the community, helping to educate and bring
awareness to the importance of living in harmony with the local wildlife.
He focuses on teaching from a Blackfoot perspective, reinforcing how
everything in our world is interconnected.
“The ways of how to fi nd food, make shelter, avoid dangers, how to
treat illnesses and injuries, how to defend oneself against predators – all of
these different skills were the Blackfoot way for thousands of years starting
with the Beaver Bundle,” Ryan says. “We gained an understanding that the
animals are going to teach us things about how to live here better, and in
turn we’re going to have respect for them.”
When it comes to snakes, Ryan is the go-to person for managing confl icts
between humans and the local rattlesnake population. However, he isn’t
the fi rst person to take on this responsibility in the Lethbridge area. Ryan
credits Reg Ernst with developing the rattlesnake program nearly two
decades ago, in partnership with Alberta Fish and Wildlife and the City of
Lethbridge.
“Before Reg, you pretty much had to deal with a snake on your own,
which often meant people were just killing them,” Ryan laments. “He saw
that snakes were one area he could concentrate his efforts and make a
difference.”
While developing the program, Reg built a man-made hibernaculum,
otherwise known as a snake den, where snakes could be relocated after
he was called out to manage an encounter. His work was even featured
in an issue of National Geographic magazine, which tipped Ryan off and
inspired him to begin volunteering to help. When Reg moved away, Ryan
was asked to take over the program, and he has been managing things for
the past fi ve years, making new strides to build a more positive relationship
between humans and snakes.
“I started taking a close-up photograph of every snake I handled, since
you can actually tell every snake apart by the patterns on their scales.
They’re like snowfl akes – no two are the same,” Ryan explains. “I’ve
developed a large database of all the snakes in the area based on these
photographs, which has been great to track the local population. Reg
had estimated the population in the area to be about 60–80 snakes, and I
encountered 60 unique snakes in my fi rst season.”
Ryan’s photographic database now includes over 200 unique snakes, and
he estimates a local population between 400 and 600 snakes. He receives
an average of about 50 calls per season to handle snake encounters,
relocating snakes back to the closest den location if required, though it’s
often a case of mistaken identity.
“A lot of calls I get are other species people are confusing with
rattlesnakes, or the snakes are gone by the time I get there,” Ryan laughs.
“People often think they hear rattlesnakes, but they’re just false alarms
that are other bugs like tree crickets or a click-hopper.”
So what if it is a ra ttlesnake? Ryan explains the best way to handle an
encounter is by being calm and courteous.
living cover
Experts are unsure how the western
painted turtle got to Lethbridge, but
they’re here to stay!
With over 80 per cent of
Canadians now living in
urban centres, it’s more
important than ever that we
keep our connection to the
natural world.
LETHBRIDGELIVING.COM
JUL-AUG 2017
29