SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Here’s a story that will help you sleep easier tonight — or, not.
A few weeks after Illinois named an official state rock, we now have an official state snake.
“The [Eastern] Milksnake” is a species of the kingsnake,” said State Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg), during legislative debate earlier this year on the proposal. “Many decades ago, the common name milksnake actually originated from a belief that these snakes milked cows. Google it. Google it. Trust me.”
Fowler says the myth is just that: a myth.
“This myth probably began when farmers sought some excuse for why a cow was producing less milk than usual,” said Fowler. “The snakes drawn to the mice in the barn were convenient culprits.”
Like the state rock and other similar namings, it started with a student — one from the Carterville area near Carbondale, in Fowler’s legislative district.
The Eastern Milksnake is sometimes bred as a pet, and isn’t poisonous. It can be 24 to 36 inches long.
Governor JB Pritzker signed the measure into law Thursday.
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