Beautiful and misunderstood
Rattlesnakes! The word alone fills most people with fear and anxiety because they have no experience in dealing with snakes. Yet we should learn to appreciate the rattlesnake as one of the most efficient and specialized predators on Earth. Many rattlesnakes struggle to survive as humans move in on their habitat. And some people feel that the only good rattlesnake is a dead one! Read on to discover cool stuff about rattlesnakes and why we need them.
Fun facts
• Rattlesnakes are also called pit vipers because they have a heat-sensitive organ known as a "pit" on each side of the head that helps them locate and aim at prey. A rattlesnake can detect prey that are as little as 1/10 of a degree warmer than their background!
• Young rattlers leave their mothers at just a few weeks old, but when it’s time to hibernate in the winter, they follow their mother’s scent trail and use the same den. Future generations will also use the same den—some have been used for over 100 years!
• The Santa Catalina Island rattlesnake Crotalus catalinensis has no rattle! It’s found only on Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of southern Baja California, Mexico. This snake climbs trees and sneaks up on its bird prey, which is easier without a noisy rattle.
• Who would guess that rattlesnakes are good swimmers? They’ve been found several miles out at sea!
More snake pictures:
3 comments:
I used to live in the Santa Cruz Mountains where there were many rattlesnakes. I was never afraid of them and they were never aggressive when I encountered them.
Well thats it, snakes are never dangerous until we do some damage to them
I also lived in the SC mountains and had the same experience. I almost stepped on one and it didn't even wake up.
Post a Comment