‘Exceedingly rare’ snake — nearly 4 feet long — spotted in Iraq yard for first time

Last year, a villager from high in the Iraqi mountains contacted wildlife researchers, informing them he had killed a large snake in his yard.

Soon after, more reports came in that the same type of snake had been killed in the village, located along the Iran border.

Intrigued, researchers examined the carcasses and realized they had something extraordinary on their hands: an “exceedingly rare” rat snake that had never before been documented in the country, according to a study published on March 21 in the journal Herpetozoa.

The spotting of the “elusive” creature is considered “important” given the scarce and fragmented data available in the region.

First discovered in 2019, the snake, known as the Urartian rat snake, has been found in a wide range of countries, including Turkey, Iran and Russia.

Measuring up to 4 feet long, the snake has a yellowish body covered with black blotches.

It is a member of the Elaphe genus, which comprises dozens of species across North America, Europe and Asia.

In order to gain a better understanding of the snakes’ distribution in Iraq, researchers traveled to the village in September. Named Laradar, the village is situated 6,500 feet above sea level in an oak forest.

Though they didn’t locate any living snakes, they spoke to locals, who again confirmed seeing the rare species.

The locals, who forage in the area for mushrooms and herbs, said they killed the snakes because they thought they were venomous, researchers said.

However, they were informed that the species poses no threat to people, and they agreed to protect it in the future.

But, in addition to being killed by locals, the species faces several other threats, researchers said. Forest fires, caused by mine explosions and military conflicts, and habitat loss brought on by agriculture production are among these threats.

This story was originally published March 21, 2024 at 2:10 PM with the headline "‘Exceedingly rare’ snake — nearly 4 feet long — spotted in Iraq yard for first time."