A forest service road in the Shawness Nation Forest is closed -- so that snakes can cross.
The stretch of gravel, service road 345, is about two-and-a-half miles long and is known as Snake Road. Wildlife biologist Mark Vuckovich told KMOX that the road is closed for snakes to make their way across twice a year.
"That is closed every spring and fall so that snakes moving from or to the limestone cliffs that are adjacent to LaRue swamp can move back and forth between the cliffs and the swamp," he said. "They hibernate in the cliffs during the winter."
There's some debate about how many types of snakes exactly cross the road twice a year, but most estimates are around 23. Vuckovich said 90% of the time people will see cottonmouth snakes crossing the road, but there are also red milks, black rat snakes, and copperheads.
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