Well, folks, the results are in and the donations have been tallied.  The winning name of this season’s Name-the-Ratsnake contest is MICA!  A round of applause to all park visitors who donated!  Thanks to you, our 6.5 foot-long captive male Gray Ratsnake now has a name, and nearly $270 will go towards ratsnake conservation, monitoring, and education efforts in the park!

Photo by Alida Lemieux

Be sure to visit Mica in the Visitor Centre when the park opens again next season. He has been educating and delighting park visitors for years.

The contest ran all summer with the name that accumulated the most money awarded to the snake. Other names on the shortlist included Sleepy John (apparently a common name for Black Ratsnakes in the South); Gabe (after ratsnake scientist Gabriel Blouin-Demers – who is also in the Friends’ ratsnake video) and Murph (since Murphys Point is one of the last protected areas for ratsnakes in Ontario).