
National Park Service
The United States is home to 424 individual locations that are governed by the National Park Service, and those areas (which comprise more than 84 million acres across the 50 states and other American territories) draw in more than 300 million visitors on an annual basis.
A solid chunk of those sites give tourists a chance to experience some of the country’s many natural wonders, whether we’re talking about the awe-inspiring sight of the Grand Canyon, the mind-bending formations at Arches National Park, or the bounty of wilderness and wildlife on display at Yellowstone and Yosemite.
If you head to any of the aforementioned locations, there’s a good chance you’re going to encounter the various species of fauna that call them home (and if you do end up in that particular position, you should not follow in the footsteps of the many people who’ve landed in hot water for getting a bit too up close and personal with wild animals).
That’s also the case at Coronado National Monument in Arizona, a 4,750-arce desert expanse near the Mexican border where you can explore the cave-filled terrain brimming with wildcats, bats, lizards, and, of course, snakes.
That includes one kingsnake that was recently captured doing a bit of exploring on a brick wall at the monument, as the National Park Service shared a viral video of the animal traversing a brick wall at the visitor’s center along with a caption referencing a game intimately familiar to anyone who relied on their flip phone to kill time back in the day.
If it runs into itself, game over. pic.twitter.com/AIKNTYJ7kr
— National Park Service (@NatlParkService) June 13, 2023
The NPS also supplemented that clip with some fun facts about the species of snake in question, which doesn’t pose any major threat to humans but should still generally be avoided when encountered in nature.
The Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake is medium-sized with red, white, and black bands. It's non-venomous, but a mimic of the Coral Snake which helps it to avoid predation. Either way, if you come across a snake, (or really any wildlife) keep your distance and don’t hiss it off.
— National Park Service (@NatlParkService) June 13, 2023
That’s certainly not something you encounter on a daily basis.