Officials at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans partnered with other facilities to release dozens of the rarest snake in the United States.
"Forty-one Louisiana pine snakes were released into the wild, marking the largest release to date of the United States rarest snake species," according to a news release.
Audubon worked with conservation partners from around the country.
"Representatives from Audubon Zoo, Memphis Zoo, and the U.S. Forestry Service released the zoo-hatched snakes into the Kisatchie National Forest."
The US Fish and Wildlife Service says the Louisiana pine snake is a non-venomous constrictor of the Colubridae family.
"It is large, usually 4-5 feet long; the largest reported specimen was 5.8 feet long."
The populations have been dwindling in the wild.
"Louisiana pine snakes originally occurred in at least 9 Louisiana parishes and 14 Texas counties, coinciding with a disjunct portion of the longleaf pine ecosystem west of the Mississippi River. They are now found in only 4 Louisiana parishes and 5 Texas counties," according to the FWS.
