Hundreds of hibernating snakes disturbed by construction workers in Delta, British Columbia

© Paul Steeves

Garter snakes

Close to 500 garter snakes are getting settled in a new winter home, after their hibernation den was disturbed by construction in Delta, B.C.

Residents alerted crews reinforcing the dike near Beach Grove this week that there was a ball of sleeping snakes under some rocks, reported

Biologists were called in to rescue the serpents, who were then brought to the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C. (WRA), said the group's Facebook page.

The snakes are cozy in groups of 20 in plastic tubs with damp wood shavings and a dish of distilled water, said the WRA. During hibernation, known as brumation, snakes drop their body temperature so they don't have to use much energy.

"We don't have to feed them ... they just need to be kept cool and they should be happy in the tubs," WRA spokeswoman Yolanda Brooks told the

The serpents will be released back into their habitat around April.

The rescue centre only sees one or two snakes every year, but Janelle VanderBeek of the WRA told CBC: "They are actually really cute for snakes.