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Just popped a rattler the other day, and what a great pleasure it was! I have no use for them whatsoever and they are a considerable danger to anyone, especially elderly, ill, or children, plus livestock. Once saw a cow that had been hit by a rattler and the poor old critter was skin and bones for the rest of its life!
There's all sorts of rattlers and several are indeed very aggressive and don't play by the rules at all. The one I just shot was under the next log in a wood pile, but I was warned in advance. No, not by the snake as it couldn't rattle, having only 1 button on its tail. The warning came from Elsewhere, so I went and got a pistol before moving the next log, and then when I did there he was, all coiled and silently waiting. Almost invisible for his perfect coloration, and big enough to make a nice hatband when the skin dries out :~ )
The Mohave rattlers are the worst of all! They have 2 venoms unlike any other snake, one paralyzes respiratory, and the other the nervous system. They are the deadliest of all rattlers and if you're struck you have BIG trouble even if a hospital is close. They come in white, green, red, black [most agressive] and 'coon tail', which has rings around its tail like a racoon. They do not often rattle, and prefer to remain quietly waiting for prey to get close. Rattlers have very poor vision and instead sense body heat or movement. That means they're indiscriminate in what they strike at. In general they strike at the heat source and then see if they can swallow it. Their jaws can unhinge and they can swallow a fairly large animal, such as a rabbit. My father reported seeing just this one day at the ranch.
The Mohave are very well known to chase after animals, including humans, and I'm one who has been chased on two occassions. Believe me they're plenty fast enough to raise the blood pressure considerably and it gets complicated dodging cactus and stumbling over rocks with death on your heels!
Timber rattlers? Yeah, up to 9' in the Pacific Northwest and a whole lot of trouble there. A herpetologist went back to Georgia area to research rattlers and in his studies found some interesting trivia. The most common reported medical complication to a Georgia Timber Rattler bite in a human is a BROKEN LEG! Talk about a bad day? When 9 to 10 feet of rattler strikes, they strike REAL HARD, being up to 8 or 9 inches in diameter if not more!
There's all sorts of rattlers and several are indeed very aggressive and don't play by the rules at all. The one I just shot was under the next log in a wood pile, but I was warned in advance. No, not by the snake as it couldn't rattle, having only 1 button on its tail. The warning came from Elsewhere, so I went and got a pistol before moving the next log, and then when I did there he was, all coiled and silently waiting. Almost invisible for his perfect coloration, and big enough to make a nice hatband when the skin dries out :~ )
The Mohave rattlers are the worst of all! They have 2 venoms unlike any other snake, one paralyzes respiratory, and the other the nervous system. They are the deadliest of all rattlers and if you're struck you have BIG trouble even if a hospital is close. They come in white, green, red, black [most agressive] and 'coon tail', which has rings around its tail like a racoon. They do not often rattle, and prefer to remain quietly waiting for prey to get close. Rattlers have very poor vision and instead sense body heat or movement. That means they're indiscriminate in what they strike at. In general they strike at the heat source and then see if they can swallow it. Their jaws can unhinge and they can swallow a fairly large animal, such as a rabbit. My father reported seeing just this one day at the ranch.
The Mohave are very well known to chase after animals, including humans, and I'm one who has been chased on two occassions. Believe me they're plenty fast enough to raise the blood pressure considerably and it gets complicated dodging cactus and stumbling over rocks with death on your heels!
Timber rattlers? Yeah, up to 9' in the Pacific Northwest and a whole lot of trouble there. A herpetologist went back to Georgia area to research rattlers and in his studies found some interesting trivia. The most common reported medical complication to a Georgia Timber Rattler bite in a human is a BROKEN LEG! Talk about a bad day? When 9 to 10 feet of rattler strikes, they strike REAL HARD, being up to 8 or 9 inches in diameter if not more!
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