Sheriff puts down unruly snake
Photo courtesy of Tina Lou Viche. The bull snake on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s that caused so much of a ruckus.
Photo by Mike Gunderson. The snake grabs some shade next to the trail.
Photo courtesy of Tina Lou Viche. Sheriff (and now on-call snake wrangler) Mike Gunderson chuckles while dealing with the snake situation.
In a small community such as the Silver Valley, it is common when a person wears several hats- job wise.
Mayors are also business owners, business owners are also teachers, teachers are also police officers, etc.
On Monday morning though, one law enforcement figure in particular had to assume the role of an animal control officer when two women reported a large snake on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s in Wallace near the High School.
Shoshone County Sheriff Mike Gunderson received a call from Pam Christensen saying that the out-of-place snake was hissing and lunging at passers-by on the trail.
Tina Lou Viche, the woman who unintentionally first discovered the snake, said that she and Christensen were startled by the creature when they were walking the trail on their lunch break.
On their first pass-by, Viche said that the snake did not seem too upset by their presence.
On the way back down the trail though, the snake’s mood had changed significantly.
A young male with a dog on the trail had also seen the snake and was loitering around where it was laid out.
This unwanted attention then drew the curious eyes of other passers-by on the trail, agitating the snake even more.
Having no animal control department to call on, Gunderson responded to the situation himself.
What he found when he arrived on scene was a critter with a seriously bad attitude.
Gunderson explained that is was a four-foot-long bullsnake, a non-indigenous species of snake that is commonly misidentified as a rattlesnake due to their similar physical appearances and behavior when feeling threatened.
“It was the weirdest thing ever,” Gunderson said with a chuckle.
Although bullsnakes are not venomous (rather, they are known as constrictors), they can still bite and put on a convincing, terror inducing, performance where they coil-up on the ground or stand up tall in an attempt to scare away potential threats.
Even without rattles, bullsnakes can emit a rattling-like sound with their tails when in what they perceive to be danger.
With no snake handling equipment on hand to move the animal and Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) being unavailable to take it away, the decision was made to put it down.
With medical personnel on standby for everyone’s safety, Gunderson shot the snake.
“There was just no way to relocate it,” he explained.
After the snake was put down, Viche gave Sheriff Gunderson a shout out on Facebook for his efforts.
“Huge rave to our local sheriff (also now a snake wrangler) for going above and beyond for these two freaked out girls!! Mike Gunderson you rock!”
If you see a dangerous wild animal that could a threat, contact the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office at 208-556-1114 or the IDFG office in Coeur d’Alene at (208) 769-1414.