The Nature Conservancy and its partners released dozens of eastern indigo snakes into the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve in Florida to help restore the area's longleaf pine ecosystem.

The release is part of an effort to restore some balance to Florida’s ecosystem lost in the 1980s as development limited the snakes’ range and people hunted for other prey, including rattlesnakes and gopher tortoises.

In a quiet preserve along the eastern bank of the Apalachicola River, 41 eastern indigo snakes were released Tuesday into gopher tortoise burrows. The release, a longtime goal of federal and state officials,

Wildlife experts released 41 of the snakes on April 30. Screengrab from the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens' video Wildlife researchers trekked through the tall grass in north Florida, unbothered by the long,

Florida wildlife officials released several snakes this week to help balance out the ecosystem. Dozens of eastern indigo snakes were set loose by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission along the bank of the Apalachicola River.