Rat snake

… It is commonly found in forests, grasslands, cultivated fields, and waterside areas from flatlands to low mountains, and also lives in the attics of houses and warehouses, but has a gentle nature. Like the 2.5m long rat snake E. obsoleta (English name: rat snake) that lives in the eastern United States, it likes to prey on mice, and has been protected in Japan since ancient times as a snake that protects rice warehouses, and has been called ``house surroundings'' and ``ancestors.'' It is also sometimes introduced to exterminate field mice in cultivated fields. …

*Some of the terminology that mentions "rat snake" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…　平地から低山地の森林，草原，耕地，水辺にふつうに見られ，人家の天井裏や倉庫にもすみつくが，性質は穏やか。アメリカ合衆国東部にすむ，全長2.5mのネズミヘビE.obsoleta(英名rat snake)同様好んでネズミ類を捕食し，古来日本でも米倉を守るヘビとして，〈屋敷まわり〉〈先祖さま〉などと呼ばれ保護されてきた。また耕地の野ネズミ退治に導入されることもある。…

※「rat snake」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報