Good-sized Northern Pacific rattlesnake... looks about 7 years old.
Was he advertising or running in stealth mode? I read the other day that in some places, they're seeing rattlesnakes that have stopped warning as a natural response from being around people more often, meaning the ones that rattle are more likely to be seen & killed. Apparently they're evolving away from that behavior as an evolutionary adaptation. And, because of that, along with the steadily growing encroachment of people into areas where rattlesnakes are found, more snakebites are happening. Classic example of why people shouldn't just kill things indiscriminately, tends to work against you sooner or later.
John
Was he advertising or running in stealth mode? I read the other day that in some places, they're seeing rattlesnakes that have stopped warning as a natural response from being around people more often, meaning the ones that rattle are more likely to be seen & killed. Apparently they're evolving away from that behavior as an evolutionary adaptation. And, because of that, along with the steadily growing encroachment of people into areas where rattlesnakes are found, more snakebites are happening. Classic example of why people shouldn't just kill things indiscriminately, tends to work against you sooner or later.
John
