- I'm Coyote Peterson, this is Zach Lim.
And today we're headed out into the hills of
northern California to look for snakes.
(dramatic tribal music)
The hills of California are slithering with snakes,
and if you explore the grasslands of San Mateo County,
there's a good chance you will come across
some of its familiar species.
Yes, yes!
Many of them are non venomous,
like the gopher snake
and the Santa Cruz garter snake.
Then there's the venomous northern Pacific rattlesnake.
Step cautiously on the trail,
as their bite is incredibly toxic.
Wow, OK, that's it,
northern Pacific rattlesnake, right there.
One thing I don't ever recommend you do
is stick your hand into a hole after a rattlesnake.
Today I am headed off trail with wildlife photographer
and reptile enthusiast, Zach Lim.
(breathes out) Man, it's hot out here.
You deal with this all the time, huh?
- All the time.
- I wore a vest today.
I don't know why.
Totally ridiculous.
So how long have you been out here
hiking the hills of California,
looking for reptiles?
- [Zach] I've been doing this all my life.
- So I see there's a lot of rocky outcrops up in here.
Do you think this is a good place to search?
- One of the best places.
- All right, let's get looking.
- Let's do it.
- [Coyote] Zach's experience in these hills,
his knowledge of the environment,
and his ability to not only find,
but also safely photograph its reptiles
should put us in a great position
to have an encounter with some
of these slithering inhabitants.
All right, what have got here?
- This is a great spot to look for snakes.
A lot of snakes like to thermoregulate in cracks.
So they get nice and coiled
with a little piece of them sticking out.
- Even if you were to see a snake
in something like this,
it would be so hard for us to actually
work him out of there.
(sighs) That would be a really tough situation.
Be like ugh, we see a snake,
but we can't get to it. - [Zach] Oh yeah.
- [Coyote] Knowing where to look is one of the most
important aspects of finding wild animals.
And sometimes, no matter how focused
you keep your gaze into the shadows of rock crevices,
tree nooks, and hillside grasses,
having a snake startle
usually happens in the flash of an eye.
And if you were like me,
hoping to make a safe and successful capture,
you better be on the tips of your toes.
Got a snake!
- Oh, nice, nice.
- Ah, right up in this crevice, yes!
Look at this!
- [Zach] What'd you get? - [Coyote] I got him.
Ow, I got bit.
- [Zach] Oh, we a got a kingsnake.
California king.
- Look at that.
Oh jeez, he's getting right into that plant.
- You wanna be careful of that plant,
that's poison oak.
- Oh, that's great, I just put my hand right into it.
Bit the side of my hand.
Not a problem though because this is
a non venomous species.
(sighs) Look at that.
That's the king.
- Beautiful snake.
- Whew, all right, well let's get,
let's get this guy up closer to the cameras.
How's your footing there?
- [Voiceover] I'm on a pretty steep angle.
I think we need to move.
- OK, yeah let's slide back down
off the edge of this,
and get this snake up close for you guys.
Oh man, look at how beautiful that snake is.
Wow.
This is it, man.
- That's awesome, man.
- Out here all morning looking,
in the heat, and there it is,
the California kingsnake.
Now, I find, and I don't know,
correct me if I'm wrong,
but whenever I see a snake,
you just kinda have to dive for it,
especially if you know it's non vemomous,
'cause this guy was booking.
He was going straight for a crack in that rock.
- They know exactly where to go.
When a predator or something big's coming after them,
they just dart back into a crack or a hole.
So that's what you gotta do.
- [Coyote] So this snake's about two and half feet long.
Is that big, small for the kingsnake?
- [Zach] It's an adult, but they could get bigger.
- [Coyote] OK.
- [Zach] Some of them are quite large,
around three to four feet long,
but generally you find them around this size.
- OK, now what are these snakes out here feeding on
in the hills of California?
- Well, they're called kingsnakes for a reason.
They eat other snakes, especially rattlesnakes.
- Right, and that is one thing the kingsnakes
are most famous for
is their ability to eat rattlesnakes.
Now, they're not completely immune to the venom,
but they are extremely resilient.
So if this snake gets into a fight
with a northern Pacific rattlesnake,
takes a bite or two,
it's probably gonna be OK.
And then of course, he's gonna eat that rattlesnake.
- Exactly.
- [Coyote] And they can eat snakes
that are bigger than they are?
- For the most part, yeah.
They can eat fairly large prey,
fairly large snakes,
but they will go for something a little bit smaller,
easier tackle, to be safer on them.
- So it's not just other snake species
that the kingsnake is feeding on.
They'll also eat mice, and voles,
and small lizards.
- Exactly, pretty much anything they can eat,
they'll try to eat it.
- That is one voracious predator right there.
If you're tough enough to take down a rattlesnake,
I see how you got the name king.
Look at that, so you just have to handle
these snakes gently.
And it's completely calmed down,
now just laying there in the palm of my hand.
This snake is so incredibly beautiful.
Black and white.
Now we think that it would be hard for this guy
to stay hidden from predators,
but I'll tell you what,
with as quick as this snake took off
the moment that it sensed me,
I think their speed is what's protecting them
against becoming a meal.
Now, is this the only species of kingsnake
that we have here in California?
- In California there's actually two species of kingsnakes.
You have the common kingsnake,
or the California kingsnake here,
and you'll also have the red, black, and white
California mountain kingsnake.
- [Coyote] OK, now what time of year are those snakes out?
We got any chance of finding one of those today?
- It's gonna be really, really tough today
'cause it's so dry.
The best time to find those are actually in springtime,
and when it's a bit cooler and bit wetter out.
- How rare is the mountain kingsnake
as compared to this species?
- The mountain kingsnake is one of the most elusive
snakes to find in all of California.
And it's pretty incredible to come across one.
- [Coyote] Now, how many have you seen in your lifetime?
Mountain kingsnakes, how many have you caught?
- I've seen quite a few of them,
but it takes a long time to find them.
I put a lot of time in,
lot of time checking rocks, checking cracks,
making sure I put everything back
exactly as I found them,
and only still a handful.
- Well Zach, it definitely sounds like we need
to come back in the spring
to see if we can find the mountain kingsnake.
But it was awesome getting up close
with this black and white beauty.
Thanks so much for taking us out today
into the hills of California to look for snakes.
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave,
stay wild, we'll see you on the next adventure.
All right, you ready to let this little guy go?
- [Zach] Let him go.
- [Coyote] All right, let's do it.
The high heat of the California sun
prevented us from finding any other reptiles.
However, capturing and getting up close
with the California king was one for the memory books.
If you want to check out some of Zach's
incredible photography, make sure to visit
his Instagram account @Zacharge.
And if you missed my last trip to the west coast,
check out the time we stumbled upon
the northern Pacific rattlesnake.
And don't forget, subscribe to join me and the crew
on this season of Breaking Trail.