Why Is the Eastern Indigo a Threatened Species?
As with most snakes with declining populations, the primary problem here is habitat loss. Over the years, there has been a lot of development in Florida and other areas where the eastern indigo snake lives. As the animals lose their habitat, they encounter humans with greater frequency. They are a docile snake and pose no threat to humans, but that doesn’t prevent them being run over by cars, killed by humans, etc. A lot of these snakes are also killed during the barbaric rattlesnake roundups, when ignorant rednecks pour gasoline into the earth to flush our rattlesnakes. Indigos often occupy these deserted burrows as well, so they are frequently killed in the process.
