Rubber boa (Charina bobttae) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 11

Summary of Status Report

The Rubber Boa is widely distributed across the northern edge of its range (British Columbia); however, sightings of the species are very rare even when substantial effort is expended in search of the snake. Behavioural traits, such as noctural feeding and thermoregulating under cover, may make the Rubber Boa difficult to capture or the species may actually be rare in Canada. The distribution and reproductive potential of the Rubber Boa is likely limited by length of the summer (reproductive) season, because short and cool summers do not allow females to complete development of their offspring before hibernation. Rubber Boas require rock outcrops and an abundance of coarse woody debris for cover while thermoregulating, and are unlikely to survive in areas where forest licensees remove all woody debris. Conversion of forested areas and grasslands into agriculture plots or urban developments decreases the quality and amount of habitat available to the Rubber Boa, while increased road-building in those areas is likely to cause an increase in mortality for snakes crossing roads or basking on the warm pavement. If the Rubber Boa is in fact rare in Canada, then the species’ patchy distribution and low reproductive potential make it vulnerable to local extinctions and, consequently, to a loss of genetic diversity.

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