Meet the Texas indigo (Drymarchon melanurus erebennus). The species range of the big, nonvenomous snake stretches from South Texas in the United States to the northern parts of Mexico. These snakes eat anything they can catch: mice, birds, lizards, frogs, and other snakes—even rattlesnakes.

Unlike some species of snake, indigos do not depend on the darkness to hunt their prey. They are diurnal and search for food during the day. Despite this, Texas indigo snakes are not always out in the open and often find shelter in shade or the abandoned burrows of other animals.

Texas indigo snakes are among the largest snakes native to the United States. The record length of an indigo snake is 2.6 meters (8.5 feet)! Both the eastern indigo snake (indigenous to the U.S. state of Florida) and the Texas indigo are classified as threatened species by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Texas indigo snakes are protected in the state of Texas and cannot be hunted or killed.