Rattlesnakes

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In one of my first professional jobs, I had a boss who had an interesting hobby. He would go out and hunt rattlesnakes. He would take down 20 or 30 down in one hunt.

How did he do this. Well it was all in knowing how to protect oneself. Rattlesnakes normally strike near ground level. So if you are walking in flat terrain, they will generally strike near your feet. When they strike they normally only have so much force. Their teeth can only go so far. If you covered the area around your feet with several inches of material, they cannot penetrate into your flesh. So you are protected from harm.

I always thought this was an interesting hobby with a positive benefit. After all, who wants to be attacked by a rattlesnake bite. VERY PAINFUL.

When I was young about 50 years ago, I took a class in college called Field Archaeology. We went out into the field many miles from Los Angeles, California and spent the day extracting samples from the ground in order to analyzing the early inhabitant of California called the Chumash Indians. In a way it was like being Indiana Jones but in real life.

On one day I took a break and walked around the area of the dig site. I heard something hit the ground nearby and then a rattle. It was a rattlesnake and it had attacked me but missed and it was coiled ready to strike again. It was a very big rattlesnake, probably 6 feet long. It had a large bulge. This was probably the reason why it missed me on the first strike. It had eaten something recently and was a little off target. I stood there and stared at it. I didn't know what to do. Should I run for it. No, it was ready to strike me and this time it was so close, I didn't have a chance. So my mind buzzed. I went through all the possible things I could do. I could attack it. Probably not a good idea. It was poised to strike. Normally I wore bluejeans. But for some reason I decided to wear shorts that day. What a mistake. (Not that a rattlesnake couldn't penetrate a pair of shorts. But even so. I stood there for at least a few minute, thinking, thinking, thinking. Then something amazing happened. The rattlesnake stopped rattling and then went away. Amazing.

I left the area, in the direction opposite the snake. Because I didn't move, the rattlesnake could not see me. In a way I was invisible. I could have been a tree for all it could determine. It didn't know where to strike and it decided perhaps it was in danger, so it left.

Rattlesnake roundups are awful.Thankfully many are now banned and they are now about education and how important snakes are.
Going out and killing them is ignorant and really not helping anyone.Sounds like an excuse to kill something.
They are a vital part of the habitat and control rodents that carry Lymes disease.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 091815.htm
Rattlesnakes will not bother you if you respect them.I have never known an individual that died from a snake bite .
More people die from drunk drivers.
Maybe they should be taken out instead.
Or just bash the car in, they kill thousands every year and pollute.
There is also medical research into the value of venom for medical uses.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6832721/
I live with a permanent rattlesnake in my yard, have for years
Taken a few days back.
Use common sense, watch where you step and never stick your hand or foot where you can’t see.Walk away and let it be.

^TY

You’re welcome.

This is a list of people killed by snake bites (mostly rattlesnake bites) in the United States. Getting bitten can be very dangerous.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_snake_bites_in_the_United_States

Many people get bitten and survive. But they experience great pain in the process.

According to the Internet:

It has been estimated that 7,000–8,000 people per year receive venomous snake bites in the United States, and about five of those people die. Though most fatal bites are attributed to rattlesnakes, the copperhead accounts for more snakebite incidents than any other venomous North American species. Rattlesnake bites, by comparison, are approximately four times as likely to result in a death or major effects as a copperhead bite.

List of fatal snake bites in the United States

Being bitten by a rattlesnake can produce some very powerful pain and suffering.

* Severe pain and tenderness at the site of the bite
* Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
* Labored breathing (in extreme cases, breathing may stop altogether)
* Rapid heart rate, weak pulse, low blood pressure
* Disturbed vision
* Increased salivation and sweating
* Numbness or tingling around face and/or limbs
* Redness, swelling, bruising, bleeding, or blistering around the bite

Antivenom is the treatment for serious snake envenomation. The sooner antivenom can be started, the sooner irreversible damage from venom can be stopped.

Venomous Snake Bites: Symptoms & First Aid

So one of the cures for rattlesnake bites is using the treated venom from the snake itself.

The reason why these bits do not produce a very high number of deaths in the United States is because the treatment is known and if applied quickly will provide a cure.

But 50 years ago when I was about to be bitten by a 6 foot long rattlesnake, the results could have been devastating. I was way out in the deep desert and my party was around a mile away. It would have been a painful experience had it occurred. I looked down and it was coiled ready to strike only about a foot from my legs.

I will spin off into a slightly different direction. When I was a child around age 4 or 5, I collected snakes. I found them interesting. So I found a pit in the ground and captured snakes, moved them to the sit and grew them. I had no fear of snakes. Many of the snakes I captured were longer then me.

Around the age of 3 or 4, I died. I was attacked by a large bull. It weighed over 1,000 pounds and I weighed around 10 or 20 pounds. It was like being attacked by a dinosaur. It struck the left side of my brain. The human brain has two sides, one on the left and the other on the right side of your skull. The left side is normally the dominant side. It struck my left side and it died. A few hours later my right side came online and not really knowing what had happened experienced what is called a near death experience. I saw my dead body on my bed in my home and my parents standing next to it in utter fear. The reason why I am who I am is because I died and my right side became my dominant brain and my left side developed into my support brain.

Because of the nature of my right side, I grew up to be fearless. Walking for hours on end in the deep woods alone, exploring nature, was normal for me. I had no fear.

The affect of being killed at around age 3 or 4, result in me the condition known as Asperger's Syndrome. It is how I became ME.

I know several people who have been copperhead bit, most didn’t even seek medical attention.One that did had a reaction to the anti-venom that made them sicker than the bite.
I’m allergic to red wasps but I don’t go around spraying their nests randomly to eliminate them.Nor do I freak out if I see one.
It is also illegal in my state to kill ANY snake.We are The Natural State.Many states have that law and in some Rattlesnakes are a protected species.
Most venomous bites occur when someone is trying to kill the snake, or you have an idiot that owns a “ hot” ( reptile owner slang for venomous )snake and decided they want to play with it.Usually they are drunk.
Snakes don’t go around looking for a person to bite.They are shy and reclusive and just want to be left alone.
Hence, “ Don’t tread on me.”
My rattlesnake is on its usual place today. Preparing to bask.It’s waiting for a rat by the hen house.Good.
I have seen a dog and poultry step on a venomous snake and not been bitten.I’ve been inches from one before and wasn’t bit.
Give snakes a break.
More people die from rodent carried diseases than snake bites.

Taken just a minute ago.I am roughly four feet from the snake.It’s not concerned at all.

From Wiki.


The timber rattlesnake is listed as endangered in New Jersey, Ohio, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts,[49] Virginia, Indiana,[50][51] New York,[52] Illinois,[53] and New Hampshire.[54]

In New York, timber rattlesnakes are "extirpated at 26% of historically known dens, and nearly extirpated at another 5%".[55] Brown (1984, 1988) suggested denning populations in New York have been reduced by 50 to 75% of their historical numbers.

In Massachusetts, the snakes are active from mid-May to mid-October.[56] Early settlers were afraid of the snake, as its population was widespread throughout the state. The town of Westborough paid 13 men two shillings per day to rid a local hill of snakes in 1680. The hill had so many rattlesnakes, it was named "Boston Hill" because the number of snakes killed rivaled the population of the young city of Boston.[57] In Milford, men would hunt the rattlesnakes between May and early June. According to Adin Ballou, when he arrived in town in 1824, snakes were still abundant, and by 1881 they were still reported in some areas of town.[58] Since that time their habitat has been reduced to the Blue Hills south of Boston, the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts, and parts of the Connecticut River Valley, notably in the area of the Holyoke Range.[56] The snake is so rare in the state that it is rarely encountered by people and is considered endangered, making it illegal to harass, kill, collect, or possess.[59] In September 2021, a five-foot long timber rattlesnake was recorded on video on a trail in the Blue Hills Reservation.[60]

Timber rattlesnakes have already been extirpated in Maine and Rhode Island and only one population remains in New Hampshire. They are protected in many of the Appalachian states, but their populations continue to decline.[61] While C. horridus was historically abundant throughout New England, there has been a recent decline in the last known population in New Hampshire that is heading toward extinction because of genetic isolation, inbreeding, and stochastic weather events that render the population susceptible to opportunistic pathogens.[32]

States with worst incident of Lymes disease.Most are states where timber rattlers are endangered.
https://www.physiciansweekly.com/12-wor ... e-disease/

One of the interesting things about snakes is that they use to have legs.

Snakes have long been associated with a lack of legs. In fact, that’s one of the major ways that scientists identify snakes today! Still, there is a lot of mystery around the origins of snakes and just what caused them to lose their limbs. In recent research, there has been a lot of information coming out about snakes and when they had legs!

With our understanding of ancient snakes broadened, the ancient history of snakes has become a bit clearer. Still, there are some areas that are currently unknown. One of the most nagging questions scientists face is exactly why snakes lost their legs. Thanks to the fossil dig site, we know where they came from (large-bodied lizards similar to modern-day komodo dragons), but why did they lose their legs?

The current theories hold that two main evolutionary pressures are responsible for the lack of legs in modern-day snakes. The first pressure was the increased hunting ability that a legless snake would have. Even today, many snakes hunt in burrows and small, confined areas. For a snake hunting small creatures that hide in burrows and tight areas, having total mobility in those areas would have been a massive hunting advantage. Over time, evolutionary pressure allowed these highly mobile and flexible reptiles to edge out the less mobile ones with legs.

The second pressure is in regard to swimming. Ancient ancestors to snakes spent a lot of time in aquatic environments, with many species today continuing in the same vein. Legs aren’t particularly useful in the water, especially when a long, lithe body is better suited for speed and maneuverability in the water.

There are some species of snake that have remnants of legs, even to this day. Most notably, pythons and boas. In most python and boa species, there are vestigial organs that are clearly the ancient remains of legs, right near the bottom of their bodies. These “legs” aren’t used for much else besides giving some extra “grip” when they are mating.

Source: Meet the Snake With Legs & How It Was Different From a Lizard