Rattlesnakes Develop New Survival Tricks
imagination circles and rocks
Rattlesnakes develop new survival Strategy
Story by Mary MacIntyre
At work the other day, a customer and I were discussing that he walk more. He was one of the newer men who have osteoperous. Though he did a lot of the recommended diet, supplements, and exercise his bones had weakened. He was in his late 60’s-early seventies.
He began to tell stories and he said that he had a lot of land around him where he could walk. I was ready to say,”Good” and return to my shelving stock. “However”, he continued with a glint in his eye, “There are a lot of rattle sankes out there.” His next hook was,”Did you know that rattle snakes don’t rattle anymore?” He explained that his brother was a snake specialist and something else scientific, and he had read that the rattle snakes have stopped making the noise because of too many rattle snake hunters! The study was done in Arizona where there are/were plenty of snakes.
As an ocassional hiker who knows how easily snakes blend into their environment I felt a wave of dis-ease. If I were out on a hot afternoon, and a good distance from the road, returning to safety in time could be a problem. I have seen snake road kill and a four foot snake is common, and I once saw one nearly seven feet long in the southern part of New Mexico. If I were bit more than once….
The story continued. His brother, himself, and his dog were recently on a hike. His brother and dog had proceeded ahead of him. He kept walking and suddenly noticed a big diamond head rattler on the edge of the path. The snake was coiled in an attack pose and was totally still. The hiker froze.
I forget how the man got his brother’s attention. He finally spoke the word, “Snake!” He tried to get his brother to stop and to restrain the dog, to no avail. Very carefully he slowly stepped backward until he was safe. The dog followed and his brother was soon with him. He said, “I wish I hadn’t seen that snake, because now I am scared. Story by Mary MacIntyre
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