When I first moved to El Sargento, I heard many a story of death-defying encounters with coral snakes.
First things first: I want to make it clear that there are NO coral snakes in Baja California Sur.
There are, however, a variety of colorful nonvenomous snakes that are commonly encountered in our area, which is the main reason that coral snakes are believed to be here. If we demystify these harmless lookalike snakes, hopefully coral snake myths will start to dissipate.
The first colorful snakes on our list are the Banded Sand Snakes (Sonora cincta). These little snakes spend almost all of their time underground or under objects, but they will come out on dark nights, especially in the spring and fall. Sand snakes are extremely variable, and can come in many different colors and patterns, one of which looks much like a coral snake.
The next snake on our list is the California King Snake (Lampropeltis californiae). These snakes are banded, much like coral snakes, but only in black and white bands, and they grow much bigger than coral snakes. King snakes are very rare and difficult to find, but I can see how they could be mistaken for coral snakes.
A third type of snake sometimes confused with coral snakes is the Cape Gopher Snake (Pituophis vertebralis). These are big beautiful snakes that have a distinctive pattern, but they are very colorful so I thought I should put them on the list.
I hope this column puts any fears you may have to rest, and helps you tell the difference between the various types of coral snake mimics. Feliz año nuevo!