jeanne constantakos

jeanne constantakos @janisjc

13 days ago

Florida beaches are breaking nesting records as thousands of loggerheads return to lay their eggs

41

4K

356

89

202K

21 days ago

@Truckin_Bassets I'm very sorry!

0

6

janisjc retweeted

Independent Citizen I was here long ago then I left. I came back when the Marxist got shut down. I will not comply. I can think for myself.

23 days ago

Green sea turtles are no longer considered endangered worldwide Decades of protecting nests, reducing hunting, and making fishing safer helped their population rise by around 28%

AMAZlNGNATURE's tweet photo. Green sea turtles are no longer considered endangered worldwide

Decades of protecting nests, reducing hunting, and making fishing safer helped their population rise by around 28% https://t.co/1ZcJ8UH0DO

98

6K

602

201

218K

Who to follow

janisjc retweeted

about 1 month ago

Box turtles can completely seal themselves inside their shells thanks to a built-in hinge Found only in North America, these slow moving reptiles rely on their unique natural armor as their primary defense, often waiting patiently until danger has passed

AMAZlNGNATURE's tweet photo. Box turtles can completely seal themselves inside their shells thanks to a built-in hinge

Found only in North America, these slow moving reptiles rely on their unique natural armor as their primary defense, often waiting patiently until danger has passed https://t.co/ivvN1nyMWq

60

3K

205

149

212K

janisjc retweeted

about 1 month ago

Close-up of the fangs of a rattlesnake (left) and a Gaboon viper (right) A Gaboon viper can deliver around 200 to 1,000 mg of venom in a single bite, while rattlesnakes typically deliver anywhere from 1 to 850 mg, depending on the species and individual snake

AMAZlNGNATURE's tweet photo. Close-up of the fangs of a rattlesnake (left) and a Gaboon viper (right)

A Gaboon viper can deliver around 200 to 1,000 mg of venom in a single bite, while rattlesnakes typically deliver anywhere from 1 to 850 mg, depending on the species and individual snake https://t.co/uzVMhP6JHp

73

2K

203

159

185K

janisjc retweeted

about 2 months ago

Fireworks can be just as frightening for wildlife as they are for pets The loud explosions can cause birds and other animals to panic, leading to injuries, disrupted feeding, and even abandoned nests

AMAZlNGNATURE's tweet photo. Fireworks can be just as frightening for wildlife as they are for pets

The loud explosions can cause birds and other animals to panic, leading to injuries, disrupted feeding, and even abandoned nests https://t.co/ln2aqp1bOO

78

2K

249

52

118K

janisjc retweeted

2 months ago

You don't have to love snakes, but you should probably stop treating them like villains. Most snakes are not medically dangerous to humans. And even the venomous ones aren't out there looking for a fight. A snake in your yard is usually doing one of three things: trying to hide, trying to find food, or trying to warm up. That's it. Many snakes eat mice, rats, voles, slugs, insects, frogs, fish, eggs, and other snakes. Snakes keep ecosystems in balance. Some are doing direct pest control. Some are controlling the mice that carry ticks. Some are prey for hawks, owls, herons, foxes, raccoons, and other predators. They are not separate from the system, but an important species holding the system together. There's even research suggesting timber rattlesnakes may reduce Lyme disease risk by eating mice and other small mammals that carry ticks. One estimate found a single timber rattlesnake could remove thousands of ticks from a site in a year just by eating tick-covered prey. That does not mean you should pick up a rattlesnake. Please don't be that guy. But it does mean the snake you're scared of may be solving problems you didn't know you had. If you see one, give it space and let it do its thing.

giveashitnature's tweet photo. You don't have to love snakes, but you should probably stop treating them like villains.

Most snakes are not medically dangerous to humans. And even the venomous ones aren't out there looking for a fight. A snake in your yard is usually doing one of three things: trying to hide, trying to find food, or trying to warm up. That's it.

Many snakes eat mice, rats, voles, slugs, insects, frogs, fish, eggs, and other snakes. Snakes keep ecosystems in balance.

Some are doing direct pest control. Some are controlling the mice that carry ticks. Some are prey for hawks, owls, herons, foxes, raccoons, and other predators.

They are not separate from the system, but an important species holding the system together.

There's even research suggesting timber rattlesnakes may reduce Lyme disease risk by eating mice and other small mammals that carry ticks. One estimate found a single timber rattlesnake could remove thousands of ticks from a site in a year just by eating tick-covered prey.

That does not mean you should pick up a rattlesnake. Please don't be that guy. But it does mean the snake you're scared of may be solving problems you didn't know you had.

If you see one, give it space and let it do its thing.

20

958

191

24

15K

janisjc retweeted

jeanne constantakos @janisjc

2 months ago

Snapping turtles have a reputation problem built on a few dramatic stories. Here's what a snapping turtle actually does most of the time: sit quietly on the bottom of a pond, stream, or marsh and eat whatever opportunity presents itself. Fish, frogs, crayfish, insects, aquatic plants, and carrion all end up on the menu. Wildlife agencies routinely describe them as important scavengers. They're among the many creatures doing the unglamorous work of recycling dead plants and animals back into the ecosystem. Can a snapper take a duckling? Sure. It happens. But the turtle in your pond is not sitting there plotting against your waterfowl. Ducklings are an occasional meal, not an obsession, and healthy adult ducks are difficult prey. The other thing people fear, that snapping turtles are aggressive toward humans, is mostly a misunderstanding. In the water, they're generally shy and prefer to avoid conflict. The famous hissing, lunging, and biting usually happens on land, where they're out of their element and can't swim away. A turtle crossing a road or searching for a nesting site is relying on bluff and defense because retreat isn't much of an option. Leave them alone, and they'll usually leave you alone. Snapping turtles have been part of North American wetlands for millions of years. They aren't villains. They're simply one more piece of the machinery that keeps ponds, marshes, and slow-moving streams functioning the way they always have.

giveashitnature's tweet photo. Snapping turtles have a reputation problem built on a few dramatic stories.

Here's what a snapping turtle actually does most of the time: sit quietly on the bottom of a pond, stream, or marsh and eat whatever opportunity presents itself.

Fish, frogs, crayfish, insects, aquatic plants, and carrion all end up on the menu. Wildlife agencies routinely describe them as important scavengers. They're among the many creatures doing the unglamorous work of recycling dead plants and animals back into the ecosystem.

Can a snapper take a duckling? Sure. It happens. But the turtle in your pond is not sitting there plotting against your waterfowl. Ducklings are an occasional meal, not an obsession, and healthy adult ducks are difficult prey.

The other thing people fear, that snapping turtles are aggressive toward humans, is mostly a misunderstanding. In the water, they're generally shy and prefer to avoid conflict.

The famous hissing, lunging, and biting usually happens on land, where they're out of their element and can't swim away. A turtle crossing a road or searching for a nesting site is relying on bluff and defense because retreat isn't much of an option.

Leave them alone, and they'll usually leave you alone.

Snapping turtles have been part of North American wetlands for millions of years. They aren't villains. They're simply one more piece of the machinery that keeps ponds, marshes, and slow-moving streams functioning the way they always have.

16

701

120

14

12K

3 months ago

@Truckin_Bassets Praying for you. Feel better soon.

0

2

0

67

jeanne constantakos @janisjc

3 months ago

@actionxander Thanks for saving this cutie!

0

15

janisjc retweeted

3 months ago

Almost every snake in America is harmless to you. Of roughly 50 native species in the US, four are venomous. Roughly 5 Americans die from snakebite per year. Cows kill more people than that. The snake in your garden is hunting the rodents you'd otherwise be poisoning. A black rat snake in a barn eats mice like a vacuum eats dust. Garter snakes eat slugs and grubs by the hundreds. Rough green snakes eat caterpillars off your tomatoes. A yard with snakes is a yard with fewer rodents, fewer ticks (which the rodents carry), and a working food web.

giveashitnature's tweet photo. Almost every snake in America is harmless to you.

Of roughly 50 native species in the US, four are venomous. Roughly 5 Americans die from snakebite per year. Cows kill more people than that.

The snake in your garden is hunting the rodents you'd otherwise be poisoning.

A black rat snake in a barn eats mice like a vacuum eats dust.

Garter snakes eat slugs and grubs by the hundreds.

Rough green snakes eat caterpillars off your tomatoes.

A yard with snakes is a yard with fewer rodents, fewer ticks (which the rodents carry), and a working food web.

47

1K

240

49

21K

janisjc retweeted

4 months ago

There's a free pest control system you can install in 90 seconds. The catch: it has fangs. Snakes need warm shelter to thermoregulate, and they'll move into the first one you offer. Stack a few flat rocks, bricks, or scrap lumber in a sunny corner of your yard, leaving gaps underneath. Place it near a fence line, garden bed, or wherever you've seen rodent activity. Within a few weeks, you've got a free, all-natural pest control crew that eats mice, rats, voles, and slugs without poison, traps, or a vet bill. Got a quiet corner of your yard you could spare?

giveashitnature's tweet photo. There's a free pest control system you can install in 90 seconds. The catch: it has fangs.

Snakes need warm shelter to thermoregulate, and they'll move into the first one you offer. Stack a few flat rocks, bricks, or scrap lumber in a sunny corner of your yard, leaving gaps underneath.

Place it near a fence line, garden bed, or wherever you've seen rodent activity.

Within a few weeks, you've got a free, all-natural pest control crew that eats mice, rats, voles, and slugs without poison, traps, or a vet bill.

Got a quiet corner of your yard you could spare?

4

162

46

12

3K

janisjc retweeted

4 months ago

95% of snakes pose zero threat to humans, and your yard needs the ones it has. Of roughly 3,900 snake species worldwide, only about 600 are venomous, and only 200-300 of those are capable of killing a human. The rest are doing free pest control. The snake in your garden is much more interested in the rodent under your shed than in you. Most bites happen when people try to handle, kill, or move snakes. A yard with a resident black snake or garter snake is a yard with fewer mice, fewer ticks, and a working food web. A yard that's been "cleared" of snakes usually means a yard that's been sprayed with pesticides, and the rodents are coming back without their predator. When did you last see one in your yard?

giveashitnature's tweet photo. 95% of snakes pose zero threat to humans, and your yard needs the ones it has.

Of roughly 3,900 snake species worldwide, only about 600 are venomous, and only 200-300 of those are capable of killing a human. The rest are doing free pest control.
The snake in your garden is much more interested in the rodent under your shed than in you. Most bites happen when people try to handle, kill, or move snakes.

A yard with a resident black snake or garter snake is a yard with fewer mice, fewer ticks, and a working food web.

A yard that's been "cleared" of snakes usually means a yard that's been sprayed with pesticides, and the rodents are coming back without their predator.

When did you last see one in your yard?

7

189

60

9

3K

janisjc retweeted