Research team gathering info on Sask.'s largest snake species

It's the biggest snake species found on the prairies, but scientists know very little about the bullsnake.

This summer a team from the University of Regina is finding, studying and monitoringbullsnakes found in the South Saskatchewan River valley at Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park.

Tera Edkins is part of the team and she told CBC Radio's Morning Edition, the docile bullsnakes can get up to three-metres long, but theypose no threat to people.

"We're too big for them to eat.Also, they are the calmest snake we have in the province," Edkins said.

"They rarely bite, they won't attack you, they're so docile, so calm and people think these big snakes are dangerous."

She saidbull snakes are not venomous snakes instead they kill prey through constriction and then swallow it whole.

Partof her work this summer out at Diefenbaker Lake focused on educating people at the lake not to be afraid of the bullsnake, despite its intimidating size.

Getting to know the bull snake

So far this summer Edkins said the team has caught 17 bullsnakes. Each one has gone through a series of tests and thenslithered away with a little extra in their bellies.

"We take body measurements, a blood sample and then we take them to the Veterinary College in Saskatoon and the vets there implant a radio-transmitter," Edkinssaid.

"It's like each bullsnake has its own frequency emitting a beep and so we go around all summer with this giant antenna and receiver and we can follow our bullsnakes around."

Right now the snake is currently listed as data deficient, meaning there's not enough information or research to actually know the population numbers, said Edkins. She'shoping to find some answersat the end of the summer.

Before heading to Saskatchewan Landing, the team spent time recording data from bullsnakes they observed in the Big MuddyValley and the Frenchman River Valley.