Although milk snakes are nonvenomous and are commonly found around the Massachusetts area, they are often confused for copperhead or coral snakes. They are a species of, “kingsnakes,” and according to Bill Heyborne (a herpetologist) there are 24 recognized subspecies of milk snakes. They are most commonly found in forested places which is why it comes as no surprise that a few were found around Pine Banks Park the other day. However, what made this particular sighting so unique was that the milk snakes were found in the midst of mating. When snakes mate it can occur for a few hours. The snakes twist around each other, similar to the medical symbol that displays two snakes twisted around each other and a staff. This is an incredible sight because sightings of snake copulating are pretty rare and we were lucky enough to catch a video of this fascinating phenomenon.
Source for Milk Snake Facts: https://www.livescience.com/53333-milk-snakes.html
Pine Banks Park YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcBBHdOszaIwMFfCqCAwszQ