Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation (OCIC)

The eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) is listed as federally Threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1978. Additionally, individual states throughout the range of the eastern indigo snake have enacted conservation measures to protect the species and the habitats in which they live. Increasing population pressures include habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and the decline of gopher tortoise communities.

A critical factor for eastern indigo snakes is the opportunity to thermoregulate. The OCIC’s outdoor habitats allow the snakes an opportunity to experience seasonal weather changes and temperature cycles, which are key to long-term reproductive success.  Each outdoor habitat is designed with an underground bunker that simulates a gopher tortoise burrow. In the summer these “dens” provide cool retreats from the mid-day sun, and during cold winter months, the dens maintain a warmer temperature by being in the ground. In addition to matching the thermal conditions found inside a gopher tortoise burrow, the snakes also have the ability to bask in the sun and receive the benefits of ultraviolet radiation.

Between 2010 and 2026, 329 eastern indigo snakes have been released in the Conecuh National Forest in southern Alabama. Between 2017 and 2026, 209 eastern indigo snakes have been released in The Nature Conservancy’s Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve in the Florida Panhandle.

This long term reintroduction program is part of a multi-partner effort including US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ALDCNR), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation, Orianne Society, Auburn University, The Nature Conservancy, US Forest Service, Zoo Atlanta, Welaka National Fish Hatchery, Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Alabama Natural Heritage Museum, and others.

The reintroduction efforts for the eastern indigo snake are only the beginning of building a healthy sustainable population. With the continuous help and support from our partners, foundations, and donors, the eastern indigo snake is on its way to becoming a thriving species in the southern U.S. and will continue to play a vital role in our ecosystem.

The striped newt (Notophthalmus perstriatus) is a small salamander species with a very restricted global range — it is found only in northern Florida and southern Georgia. Striped newts are listed as Threatened by the state of Florida as of 2022. These newts belong to a group of pond-breeding amphibian species that typically use small, isolated wetlands that lack predatory fish.  Adult striped newts typically immigrate from surrounding uplands into isolated wetlands during fall and winter rains and emigrate several months later after breeding and oviposition.

Approximately six  months after hatching, a larva either changes into an eft (immature terrestrial stage) and leaves the pond or remains in the pond and matures into a paedomorph (gilled adult) roughly six months later.  Adult striped newts can live 12–15 years.