In defense of snakes and lizards in Southern California.

Spring is coming. So snakes, lizards and turtles — all are reptiles and vertebrates (that means they have backbones) — will be out in force as early as March. Any spate of warm days could awaken these leg-less creatures from hibernation. Snakes could be roaming farther from burn areas this spring in search of a new food supply, say ecologists.