A rubber boa seen on a tree in Hardy Falls Provincial Park, Aug. 6, 2022.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Michelle Richardson

The world’s most northerly boa snake was spotted by a Peachland woman last night while in Hardy Falls.

Michelle Richardson and her sister were walking along the Hardy Falls Regional Park main trail last night, Aug. 5, at around 7 p.m. when she spotted the rubber boa on a tree.

“I’ve only ever seen the common garter snake, so we were really surprised to see it but now I know where I saw it every time I go there I’m going to see if it’s there,” she said.

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“It was so calm and really chill.” She described it as being at least a foot and half in length.

The rubber boa is the world’s most northerly boa snake, according to snake researcher Karl Larsen.

"[They're] closely related to anacondas and boa constrictors... but a lot smaller," he said in a previous interview with iNFOnews. They grow to about 80 cm in length and 2.5 cm wide and are very secretive. "If you see one you're having a lucky day," Larsen said. Even after 35 years of studying and searching for snakes, Larsen said he's probably seen about half a dozen in the wild.

Pete Wise, with Wise Wildlife Control Services based in Coldstream, finds more rubber boas than Larsen. He said he sees about six rubber boas a year.

“They are a protected species, so if we have one that we have to move we don’t move them too far from where we get them from,” he said.

“There’s more than you realize.”

The longest one he’s seen reached 30 inches in length but they’re a non-aggressive species.

Their defense posture is to curl into a ball and they may try to poke with their tail.

“When they get scared they really stink,” he said.

They are described by the Burke Museum as “small, stout, and smooth snakes ranging in average length from 21 to 26 inches.”

Their colours range from different shades of brown, with light yellow bellies. Young snakes are born pink and gradually develop their adult colours.

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