Rattlesnakes bred in Toronto get new home at Ojibway Nature Centre

Two rattlesnakes have a new home at OjibwayNature Centre, thanks to an adoption from the Toronto Zoo.

Eastern Massasaugarattlesnakes have been on displayat the Obijway Nature Centre for about 40 years. When the last pairdied, naturalists went on the hunt to find replacements.

Naturalists used to simply goout into the wild to find an Eastern Massasauga the only venomous rattlesnake still found in Ontario.

The snakes are hard to come by, though, since becoming endangered.

"We don't want to go out and take any animalsout of the wild," said Karen Cedar, naturalist at OjibwayNature Centre. "Even the loss of one snake could be end of a population."

The two snakes, which are bred to be display snakes,were picked up this week in Toronto. Having the snakes on site is a much better way for visitors to learn about the animals, Cedar explained.

"It really is so much more effective when you have a rattle snake to show them," she said. "Pictures in a book don't really do the trick. You really need to have a live animal."