Explorer Dr. Adam Shoalts on an expedition in the Hudson Bay Lowlands in 2020. Since launching the project, Shoalts has found 14 of Canada's 33 snake species on his adventures. Follow along on his expeditions to see if he can find the remaining 19 snakes.  

The Great Canadian Snake Quest is a multi-year expedition project to find, document, and photograph all of Canada's native snake species in the wild. The idea behind the quest is to see if Westaway Explorer-in-Residence Adam Shoalts of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society can find and photograph all of Canada's native snakes over the course of his adventures. Expeditions take place across Canada's vast and diverse landscape, ranging from lush Carolinian swamps to remote northern forests, wide-open western grasslands to sandy deserts. The project's goals, besides finding and photographing snakes in the wild, is to raise awareness about the threats they face and provide educational resources to classrooms across the country. Through the project, students will learn more about Canada's snakes, the threats they face, and what we can do to help them. 

1. Eastern Hognose Snake

2. Massasauga Rattlesnake

3. Queen Snake

4. Northern Watersnake

5. Eastern Foxsnake

6. Blue Racer

7. Red-bellied Snake

8. Eastern Gartersnake

9. Lake Erie Watersnake

10. Dekay's Brownsnake

11. Red-sided Gartersnake

12. Northern Ribbon Snake

13. Eastern Milksnake

14. Butler's Gartersnake 

1. Black Rat Snake (Grey rat snake) 

2. Ring-necked Snake 

3. Smooth Greensnake 

4. Sharp-tailed Snake

5. Desert Night Snake 

6. Great Basin Gophersnake 

7. Bullsnake 

8. Western Yellow-bellied Racer

9. Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer 

10. Northern Rubber Boa

11. Northwestern Gartersnake

12. Plains Gartersnake 

13. Wandering Gartersnake 

14. Puget Sound Gartersnake 

15. Valley Gartersnake 

16. Maritime Gartersnake 

17. Plains Hog-Nosed Snake

18. Prairie Rattlesnake 

19. Northern Pacific Rattlesnake