You’ve got to admire the bullsnake. A pudgy, sand-colored reptile, it has figured out how to make the most of its looks.

It spends much of each day looking for food — its favorite snacks are lizards, birds and small rodents. When it feels threatened, it coils its bulky length, lifts its head and shakes its tail furiously, doing its best impression of Colorado’s most feared snake — the rattler.

But the bullsnake can’t follow through on its threats because it is nonvenomous, like most of Colorado’s snakes. Only two of the 26 snake species that live in Colorado are venomous: the prairie rattlesnake and the massasauga rattlesnake.

There are more than 2,400 species of snakes throughout the world, living everywhere except New Zealand and Ireland. One hundred thirtyone species have been identified in the United States and Canada, favoring states such as North Carolina (37 species) and Arkansas (32).

Snakes are found throughout the Pikes Peak region, with some areas home to a variety of species.

Staff members at Fountain Creek Regional Park have recorded two species of garter snake — the plains and the western terrestrial — as well as the bullsnake and the more rare yellow-bellied racer, naturalist Ken Pals says.

“That’s all we have officially confirmed,” he says. “But people regularly report seeing rattlesnakes.”

Pals says those “rattlers” are likely imposters — bullsnakes doing their best to scare park visitors.

“They’re pretty good at it, too,” Pals says. “Someone brought us a small bullsnake that I assume hatched out last year, and it sounded just like a rattlesnake.”

Sometimes that masquerade can be deadly for a bullsnake. It could be killed if the human it encounters thinks it’s a rattler.

The human-snake relationship is complicated and has been documented in art, literature and mythology for thousands of years. In the Bible, the snake precipitated the downfall of Eve in the Garden of Eden. In Greek mythology, a snake was a monster with nine heads. Egyptians and Norsemen feared giant serpents; Aztecs and Australian aborigines worshipped them.

The physiology of snakes does little to endear them to people. They have no appendages, but they can climb trees. They often eat their food while it’s alive. They have scales instead of skin or fur, and they shed it regularly. They are coldblooded.

“People either love snakes or hate them,” Pals says. “Very few people are indifferent about them.”

For those who are on the snake-hater side, Pals’ next statement could be unsettling: “There are a whole lot more snakes around than we will ever see. They are really good at not being seen by people.”

When a snake shows himself at the Garden of the Gods, it often leaves visitors breathless. The park is a favored habitat of the prairie rattler.

The park provides the perfect habitat for the rock- and sun-loving snakes, says Melissa Walker, lead park interpreter. In summer months, rattlers are often seen in the eastern part of the park, Walker says. “But they have also been sighted in the Spring Canyon area, and in rocks throughout the park.”

Garter snakes and bullsnakes have also been seen in the wetter portions of the park, Walker says.

Most people are afraid of being bitten. Rattlesnake bites can be serious and require immediate medical attention, but they are rarely fatal.

Walker sees snakes’ presence in the park as comforting. “We are so lucky to live in a place where so many of our wildlife heritage is intact — the bighorn sheep, the mule deer, the rattlesnake.”

Hikers and their dogs also have encountered rattlers at Waldo Canyon, Ute Valley Park and Bluestem Prairie Open Space. They also slither into yards.

“In the spring, the snakes come out in the daytime when it’s warm, but because it still gets cold at night, they often look for a warm place in which to hide,” said Tina Jackson, herptile coordinator for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

“That place is often a human dwelling.”

SNAKE MYTHS

Myth: Snakes never sleep.Fact: A snake’s eyes are covered by clear scales that can make it appear that they are always open.Myth: All snakes are poisonous.Fact: Only two species of venomous snakes live in Colorado: the western rattlesnake and the massasauga rattlesnake.Myth: Snakes sting with their tongues.Fact: Snakes flick their tongues to taste or smell the air.

ABOUT RATTLERS

– It has been in North America for five million years, adapting to a variety of habitats, from sand dunes in open desert to northern prairie.

– It lives in all the lower 48 states, with the greatest diversity of species in the Southwest.

– Because it lacks an external ear, it can’t hear, but it’s sensitive to vibrations transmitted through the ground.

– Its eyes are protected by a transparent covering that it sheds with its skin.

– It uses its nostrils and its forked tongue to investigate its surroundings. It can sense heat with facial pits located between eyes and nostrils.

– The northern-dwelling rattler hibernates for the winter in rock cracks and under rock ledges.

– Like most snakes, the rattler eats mice, rats and other rodents. The snake is then prey for a variety of raptors and even the roadrunner.

– There are 16 species native to the United States; seven are threatened or endangered. None of Colorado’s species is threatened or endangered, but the Colorado Division of Wildlife has labled the midget faded rattlesnake and massasauga rattlesnake “species of special concern.”

– The western or prairie rattlesnake, which is the most common rattler along the Front Range, can be found from western Iowa to California and Oregon, and from southern Canada to northern Mexico.

SOURCES: The Humane Society of the United States; the Colorado Division of Wildlife

HOW TO COEXIST WITH SNAKES

1. When you hike, stay on established trails. When you cross logs or large rocks, watch for snakes before you put your foot down.

2. If you encounter a snake, even a small one, leave it alone. Most snake bites result from people trying to handle a snake.

3. If you meet a snake, give it room to escape.

4. If you aren’t sure if the snake you meet is a rattler, assume it is.

5. If you are bitten by a snake, don’t panic. A rattlesnake will leave two well-defined puncture marks and an immediate, lasting pain. A nonvenomous snake will leave rows of small punctures or scratches and minor pain.

6. If you are bitten by a rattler, don’t apply a tourniquet, don’t cut or ice the area, don’t try to suck out the venom and don’t drink alcohol. According to the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, you should:

– Remain calm.

– Remove tight clothing, jewelry or shoes from below the bite area.

– Wash the wound with soap and water.

– Immobilize the bite area, keeping it in a neutral to below-the-heart position.

– Get to a hospital immediately, where anti-venom will be administered.