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Speckled kingsnake (or Desert?) wrapped around a Prairie kingsnake... intergrade breeding or defending of territory...??? The prairie ks was much smaller than the speckled ks. Grateful to notice this before getting too close to disturb them.

This individual, like the previous animal, was also a juvenile specimen, found under very similar conditions with a 25 degree day followed by a quick cooling after dark. The night I found thi
s guy I site another 2 with the same area

85 degrees (maybe slightly cooler) at about 5,000 feet elevation at 4:50pm. Chocolate colored, green-eyed, young panamint crossing a backcountry road in Death Valley. Chapstick for reference of its’ size.

I was leading a birdwatching trip through the mountains just below the cloud forest at El Triunfo, Chiapas, Mexico. We were near a location known as Canyon Honda when this green pit viper was found coiled on a small limb along the trail. I had seen this species in this area once before, in 1987 and I have one poor quality slide of that animal as well. This location is at an elevation of ca. 1530 meters. This animal was identified from my photos by herpetologist Dr. Jon Campbell of the University of Texas at Arlington a number of years ago. It was formerly known as Bothrops ornatus I believe. In 1987, I was able to visit personally with Dr. Miguel Alvarez del Toro, a noted Mexican herpetologist, who identified my 1987 observation as that species.