One of the most striking reptiles found at the UC-Hopland Research & Extension Center is the California Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata). This showy snake has a dazzling pattern of encircling black and white crossbands ... with the black bands more-or-less divided by bright red. The top of the head always has a white band and the forehead and snout is always black. Unfortunately, some folks mistake this snake for the poisonous coral snake ...however we do NOT have coral snakes in California. Found from sea level to almost 5000' elevation it occurs in most of the mountain ranges of California and into the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. This docile reptile can be very secretive and elusive to find however.
A small snake in size, normal adults are 20 to 30 inches in length. It avoids dark dense forests and prefers sunnier, more dry and open oak and pine woodlands and brushy chaparral habitats. The only specimen that I have seen in 28 years at HREC was collected (then released) from chaparral habitat. When this snake was released its broken pattern camouflaged it quite well in the understory leaf litter and broken sunshine/shadows of the chaparral floor.
