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South Bay Lake That Was Home To 'Thousands' Of Snakes Now Miraculously Snake-Free
Good riddance idiot. (Original photo by Zach Behrens/ LAist, additional graphic design by Devon McReynolds)
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Machado Lake, the body of water in the South Bay that had been home to thousands of snakes is now miraculously snake-free.The Daily Breeze reports that the snakes, along with "thousands of golf balls, car doors and chunks of metal debris" have been sucked out of the lake thanks to the $111 million Machado Lake Ecosystem Rehabilition Project, or Proposition O, which is now reportedly 75% complete, according to city officials.
The L.A. Times wrote last month that the lake, situated in Ken Mallow Harbor Regional Park between Harbor City and Wilmington captures storm drain runoff, which includes "bullfrogs, apple snails as big as baseballs, and snapping turtles." They also reported that the invasive snakes—of which there were thousands were super comfortable in the lake, having plenty of their beloved trash around.
But, as USGS snake ecologist Robert Reed said the snake growth could be quelled if water quality was improved. "The only sure way to get rid of the water snakes is to eradicate their food sources by draining the lake for at least a year," he said.
Now that the lake is drained and free of the legless demons, it's only a matter of time before the new and improved Harbor Regional Park reopens, which should be by next Spring.
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"It’s going to be beautiful," Joanne Valle, board member for the park told the Daily Breeze.
Beautiful...and blessedly snake-less. Thank you.
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