August 4th, 2012. We encountered this
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) as we were driving out of the Oconee
National Forest late in the afternoon. We saw it from a distance and could see
by its markings that it was a timber rattler. A fat, happy timber rattler. We
hopped out and walked up to it. Unlike the Timber rattler we encountered last
year that
We were driving down the road looking for
wildflowers and we almost ran over it. W saw it just in time and by the time he
stopped, we were close enough to it that I couldn’t see it. I didn’t know why
he’d stopped. But when I did, I clambered out to negotiate a photo shoot.
It was minding its own business – making its way
across the road.
*****
A closer views
'You Know You're Really Intruding
On My Personal Space, Don’t You? I’d really rather you left.'
It rattled fairly vociferously when we stepped
too close and stopped immediately when we stepped back one pace.
A different
view of its head that shows the ‘viper-shapped’ head clearly.
A closer
view of the pattern on its back
And the
rattles on its tail. This snake had twice as many rattles as the snake we saw
in Hancock County last year
It remained
in the same position while we walked around it taking photographs. It didn’t coil
into a defensive pose like the snake last year.
We won’t
leave a snake on the roadway - it's a variation on moving a turtle off the road. We prodded it gently in the hope it would leave.
*****
It recoiled
suddenly and then threw itself forward and at a slight angle away from us, and
then…
*****
moved with
surprising speed and agility across the road, and...
up the
embankment on the other side and then angled sharply off to the right. When it
reached the edge of the woods, it...
coiled up
in a defensive posture, tense, but not showing any signs of striking.
It was
testing the air with its tongue and would rattle if we got to close. I’m sure
that could have changed quickly if it had felt the need.
A final
shot. It’s head is on the right and its rattles are visible on the left.
We walked
the few yards back to the truck and by the time we’d started to move, the snake
had disappeared into the woods. Yet another example that the Timber Rattlesnake
is not aggressive and just wants to get on with its life.
We'd been
commenting that we hadn’t seen a Timber Rattlesnake this year and we were glad
to see such a healthy one. It does serve as reminder though not to walk
carelessly in grassy areas without being on the lookout for snakes. Don’t
depend on the snake to rattle before you get too close. This snake wasn’t at
all eager to rattle. So by the time you hear the rattle, it might be too late.
We tend to
only walk in areas where we can clearly see the ground not only in front but
also to the side of where we are walking. If we have to walk through thicker
grass/brush, we use a snake hook to sweep the area in front and to the side,
and tap on fallen logs or rocks under which snakes might be lying in wait for
an unsuspecting mouse. I learned these lessons early, growing up in Australia,
and they’re lessons well learned and never forgotten and, hopefully, they’ll continue
to keep me out of trouble.
Click on an
image to view a larger image
Identification
resource:
University of Georgia:
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory: Canebrake / Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) – Venomous
Related
post:
2 comments:
Beautiful snake. Very light-colored-I'm glad you found it and not someone else.
That's interesting. I hadn't really noticed how light it was. But compared with the snake we encountered previously in Hancock County, it is very light.
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