(WGHP) — A snake that can be found across the south, including in the Carolinas, may be labeled as endangered due to a lawsuit filed on Thursday.

The Center for Biological Diversity sued the US Fish and Wildlife Service to gain Endangered Species Act protection for the southern hognose snake.

The southern hognose snake population has declined by 60%, and the USFWS estimates that 75% of the population could soon be lost, according to a CBD news release.

The species is already no longer found in Alabama and Mississippi, but southern hognose snakes can still be found in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Habitat loss, climate change, disease, invasive species and pet traders are among the threats to the snakes’ population.

“The southern hognose snake is in desperate need of protection to avoid extinction,” said Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, an endangered species attorney at the CBD.