Favoritos de tiwane

Extremely odd behavior from a Watersnake and Ribbonsnake... has anyone else observed something similar to this before? Both healthy adults with no visible injuries and both escaped rather quickly under their own power without coaxing.

I originally walked up on this pair around noon but the ribbon snake took off before I could get a picture of the odd behavior so I immediately left and came back about three hours later to find them both in the exact same position. So it’s fair to assume it’s a reoccurring arrangement between the two of them. The minimal research I have done has turned up nothing but I would love to hear from someone more knowledgeable about this sort of thing!

Tiehm buckwheat, Eriogonum tiehmii, Nevada, Esmeralda County, Silver Peak Range, Rhyolite Ridge, subpopulation 5, Fishlake Valley watershed, elevation 1879 m (6165 ft).

One of three plants observed re-sprouting from damaged rootstocks at subpopulation 5 under continued severe drought conditions in May 2021, following a massive herbivory event that impacted the species in late 2020.

This subpopulation was thought to have been completely lost after the 2020 event, when no live above-ground plant parts could be found in it.

It turns out that the underground rootstocks of this species may be its "superpower," enabling it to store enough resources to support regeneration even under severe drought and/or damage conditions (assuming such conditions don't last for too many years in a row). This may also explain why the near-surface portions of the rootstocks would have been attractive to local herbivore populations trying to survive under the drought and heat conditions in late 2020.