Slithery snakes emerge from Manitoba's Narcisse dens for orgy

While some Manitobans took to cabin country this May longweekend, others visited the Interlakes world-renowned Narcisse Snake Dens.

As many as 50,000red-sided garter snakes cantypically emerge from the Narcissehibernacula a series of underground caves as early as late April, but a cold spring postponed the mass exodus until just this past week.

Interpreters saidmid-May will be the peak viewing period this spring and may last two to three weeks.

The spectacle draws thousands of people from around the world and has been the subject of several nature specials.

Visitorswalk athree-kilometre stretch of trail where they can view thousands of snakes knotted-up in mating balls at four different denningsites.

• Wild Canada bonus: watch red-sided garter snakes have an orgy

Snake pit-goers are encouraged to wearwindbreakers, hiking shoes and tovisiton sunny days, when the cold-blooded reptiles are most active.

The Narcissedens contain the largest concentration of red-sided garter snakes in the world.