“Life is full of banana skins. You slip, you carry on”.
Daphne Guinness
When it rains the Traboulay Trail is suddenly covered in hundreds of banana slugs trying to get to the other side. Riding my bike along the path becomes like a horrifying game of Frogger.
I really wish I could provide some sort of shuttle for the slugs. Maybe a moist tunnel beneath the trail? Like a pH balanced Slip N’ Slide to the other side.
Seriously though, where are they all headed?
It turns out slugs are similar to amphibians in that they breathe through their skin (though they also have gills or lungs). Under dry conditions, they seek cover to combat dessication. But when it rains they “come out”, just like many amphibians, in search of food and mates.
The rest of the time they excrete a protective layer of mucus, bury themselves in soil and leaves, and effectively shut down until conditions are livable. (Which is pretty much what I do during a West Coast winter when it rains for weeks on end).
Banana slugs are hermaphroditic, allowing for self fertilization. Despite being born with a set of both genitalia they usually still choose to mate with each other. If you want to know how that works, you can read about it here. You big weirdo.
Perhaps I’ll write a proposal to the city for my slug tunnel. But until then, I’ll just have to keep dodging them. And the garter snakes. And keep an eye out for the bears.
God I love that crazy trail.