by Lori Pollock

Created on: February 11, 2008

Imagine living in a world where there are 5000 males to every female. This is the life of the female red-sided garter snake, relishing one of the rarest rituals in the animal kingdom.

Seventy miles north of Winnipeg, Manitoba, snuggled deep in the Interlake region lies the Narcisse Snake Dens. In a series of connecting limestone caverns carved out by underwater streams, the snakes lay in suspended animation for the winter. Summoned by the first warmth of spring, the snakes slow begin to emerge from the cracks and crevices. Tens of thousands of them meet at the top their winter dens . . . the largest gathering of snakes anywhere in the world.

The males appear first, to test the waters so to speak. You see, in the snake world, males are more expendable. Their early emergence is a kind of trial to determine if the unpredictable spring weather brings the danger of a late frost. The males are also smaller, so they reach their operating temperature quicker. When they first awake from their slumber, they are cold, unfeeling; their movements are slow and clumsy. But as Spring's sunshine envelopes them, it heats up their blood, until this normally shy and timid creature is sizzling with activity.

The female finally emerges from her den. Still sluggish from her long chilly sleep, she is met by large numbers of males. These snakes haven't eaten anything for the past seven months; you would think the first thing they would like to would be to bite into a frog or toad, or maybe a juicy slug; but no . . . they are equipped with a mechanism that suppresses their appetite long enough to make sure they'll mate.

For roughly three weeks, there is a fury of activity. Males vigorously chase after the females, each with unquenchable optimism that they will be the one selected to mate with her. As many as a hundred males will entwine and twist around a single female. Eventually they wind into a wriggling, writhing mass forming what is known as a "mating ball." Like a tangled mass of spaghetti, the mating ball slithers along the ground, up trees, and over rocks.

The males use many tricks to improve their own chances, including emitting a scent similar to the female's to confuse their rivals. Involved in their own ritual, they seem unconcerned with the gawking audience gathered around to observe. The reptiles twist around the fingers of scientists and curious spectators alike. They sneak into backpacks, curl on shoulders, and wind around binoculars. They are obsessed; nothing can temper

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