Speckeled King Snake

Today I just got back from a vacation in California. If you live in south eastern Louisiana you know its been raining constantly lately. I woke up early this morning to check the roads and the trace. The first thing I encountered was a dead speckeled kingsnake. What a disheartening site. One of my favorite snakes of Louisiana. Usually what happens after a hard rain is snakes have to exit there usual hiding places and find higher ground so there actively crossing busy streets. This is a deadly combination. So please be careful when driving after a hard rain. The next thing I saw made my summer a 2 3/4 ft speckeled kingsnake. He was on the side of the ditch on the trace. I spotted him then he spotted me. I actually froze for a minute or at least it felt that long. When you find something that you've been looking for, for so long its a great feeling. I regained my senses after he took off . I was not going to let this snake go at all costs. So without hesitation I was in the ditch after him. I scoped him up and that was it. He was a very calm snake not ever trying to bite. The king snake is a wonderful species. He is a constrictor growing to great lengths. Its got a reputation for eating poisonous snakes and this is true. But its not its main source of prey. Mostly king snakes eat mice and rats.