I went back to the St. Vrain just above the town of Lyons to see if any fish wanted to come out and play. I did bring some up, and was able to hook two, but they got off. It happens. But on the way back to the truck I ran into something that just bewildered me. Here it is, early Nov., and this guy was right on the path basking himself.



I was walking along looking at the creek, and in the corner of my eye I saw something a few feet of me move. I turned my head to see what it was and I was maybe three feet away from heading to the hospital. I never stopped so fast in my life. But I was grateful that it allowed me to take a photo and not strike at me.

This year I have run into bears, moose, ticked off squirrels, rams, and now a rattler. Been a good year in a wild way.

In all my 54 years, I have never just come across a rattler. Oh, I know they are all over the place here in the foothills along the Front Range, and basically everywhere else, and I have seen many on summer nights on dirt roads staying warm as I'm driving along squishing them, but never have I just stumbled up on one. I run into many other snakes all summer along the banks of the rivers, and I'm used to that, but a rattler, in Nov.? Just thought it would never happen.

On purpose? I was under the impression they were protected as non-game species in Colorado except where they pose a threat?

Being protected as non game, I'm not sure about that. I had an Uncle that was a champion rattlesnake hunter, and he would capture them and milk them for anti venom and give it to hospitals. Then he would make jewelry with the rattles and fangs, plus make belts out of the skins. But that was back in the early 1970's, so if things have changed, I'm unaware of it.

But to answer your question, no, not on purpose. They would come out of the brush at night and coil up on the warm dirt roads in the summer, and there would be 20 to 30 a night. The road was windy and deer would be on it too, so I payed more attention for deer crossing the road than looking for snakes. But I have run over more than a few, but not on purpose. Sometimes you could turn the radio in the truck off, and slowly drive by a big rattler and hear it strike the truck. Mean things they are.



I don't know how you sleep at night.
That's a terrible thing about that lady being bitten and they couldn't pay the mortgage because of medical bills.

Iasgair: Ah, thanks. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain. You've put my mind at ease. In my younger years I worked as a herpetologist, and a big part of my time was spent explaining to people that, notwithstanding their biblical origin story, snakes are not evil, are generally harmlessly going about their business, and play a role in a balanced ecosystem. Absolutely, there are places they do not belong, and its a darn sight safer for someone untrained in snake handling to kill rather than remove a rattler. But I am always disheartened to hear of folks who purposely run over sunning snakes or (even worse) turtles on roads. Or who hack to pieces with hoes, harmless species encountered on their property.

Jangles: I see no culpability on your part for owning a foreclosed home; the owner had clearly already lost it to the bank. But how unfortunate for them. Living in a country with universal health care, I cannot easily wrap my head around this. I don't see this as a political or partisan issue - it feels to me more like a basic human need. Like clean water, secure food supply and shelter. Just my opinion of course
brent

Thanks for the clarification. I was misinformed, so I dug deeper: Crotalus viridis - Western rattlesnake is obviously the one you're referring to, and although there are two other rattlesnakes in Colorado which ARE protected (Massasaugas and one a subspecies of the Western, oddly named the midget-faced rattlesnake), it appears to be open season on the big-uns.
Here's what I found out from Colorado State University extension service (Bulletin 6.501):

"According to the Colorado Division of Wildlife, it is legal to kill rattlesnakes when necessary to protect life or property, provided that the method used is in accordance with city and county ordinances. Call your local police and animal control departments for details. The most common method to kill a rattlesnake is clubbing or shooting. The midget-faced rattlesnake (a subspecies of the western rattlesnake), the massasauga, and all nonpoisonous snakes are classified as nongame wildlife and are protected by state law, except as noted above."

So, I gotta know - what does it taste like (please don't say 'chicken' ) Anything like alligator? I LIKE alligator!

I always learn something here. Love it.

brent

I'd agree with you. Rattlers bite for two reasons: to kill prey or to defend themselves. There is no advantage to their survival to seek out and bite something they cannot eat, don't view as prey, or constitutes no threat. In fact, to do so would use up precious physical resources (venom) and energy that they would be better off using to hunt food.
Fair to say that they may interpret a threat where none exists, and bite someone who meant them no harm, but no animal I can think of bites, stings or otherwise causes harm except to defend territory/mates, eat or when under threat. (well, maybe wolverines).
Cannot say the same for humans, not only in the context of harming other species, but in particular in his willingness, at times, to hurt others of his species for no good reason. (although, like the rattlesnake, this often occurs when someone incorrectly perceives a threat from another individual or group where none exists. Politicians are particularly good at convincing people that they are in danger from some arbitrary 'other', that this 'other' is the source of all of their misfortune, and that only he/she holds the key to eliminating that danger. Apparently it works.)
brent.

Back in the late 1970's used to wet wade the St Vrain & after encountering baby rattlers swimming along side the banks took great care to see if the momma was around as those waters weren't all that wide while whipping the tip top at little rattlers like when encountering copperheads back east would keep them at bay......

One year I had the opportunity to watch two Moccasins fighting over a sunfish at a private farm pond just outside of Parsons KS. It was a good show that lasted about 3 or 4 minutes, till I started to wonder how many more were in the tall grass around me. End of that story.

When I was a teenager living in New Orleans my next door neighbor and I used to go into the swamps and hunt water moccasins. We would catch them using a forked stick, put them in a burlap bag and sell them to a professor at Loyola University who would milk them to use the venom for laboratory studies. When I was in the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton in Liberal Lala Land, otherwise known as California, I loved to go hiking in the hills and catch rattlesnakes. Rattlesnake over an open fire, mmmmmmmm good! Yep, the rattlers and I would sit down next to the fire, tell stories, sing Kumbayeh and then I would whack off their heads and cook them. They did have some pretty good stories to tell me about all the rodents they used to stalk and eat. They wouldn't eat any of the liberal lalas in CA though because they were afraid of being poisoned.