Eastern Indigo Snake Population in Florida: Threatened Status

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi) population in Florida is estimated at 8,000–15,000 individuals.

Conservation Status

• State: Threatened (Florida Administrative Code 68A-27).
• Federal: Threatened (ESA, 1978).
• Protected: Illegal to harm, harass, capture, or kill without permit.

Key Facts

• Largest native snake in North America (up to 8.5 ft / 2.6 m).
• Non-venomous; apex predator — eats venomous snakes (rattlesnakes, cottonmouths), rodents, turtles.
• Habitat: Sandhills, scrub, pine flatwoods, gopher tortoise burrows (commensal).
• Threats: Habitat loss/fragmentation, road mortality, illegal collection, gopher tortoise decline.

Recovery Efforts

• Habitat acquisition & prescribed fire management.
• Gopher tortoise conservation (keystone species).
• Captive breeding & reintroduction (e.g., Apalachicola Bluffs, Conecuh National Forest).
• Public education: "Don't kill — they eat rattlesnakes!"

Seeing one is rare luck—they're elusive, wide-ranging, and vital to ecosystem balance.