WAIT FOR IT A gopher snake emerges from the tall grasses, probing the air with its tongue before silently slithering away in southeast Washington. The gopher snake, as the name suggests, is known for hunting small mammals like rats and rabbits. They will also eat birds, bird eggs, lizards and insects. When threatened, gopher snakes are known to coil up and do their best to mimic a rattlesnake; but there is no rattle and they are nonvenomous. This snake was spotted at McNary National Wildlife Ref

Fox vs. Snake Showdown! The Santa Cruz Island gopher snake is found only on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands. Compared to its mainland counterpart, the Pacific gopher snake, which can grow up to 7 feet long, the Santa Cruz Island gopher snake is much smaller, rarely exceeding 3 feet long. When provoked or threatened, the Island gopher snake will elevate and inflate itself to look bigger and sometimes shake its tail back and forth, making a buzzing noise like a rattlesnake. Island gopher snakes