He's as much a part of our Western landscape as the bison and the Grizzly Bear (well, those two used to be part of the landscape), but the rattlesnake has proven to be a whole lot more resilient.
He's also on the move these days, sunning himself and looking for water as our creeks begin to dry up with the approach of summer.
Trent writes that his neighbors up on Rimer Drive and Tharp in Moraga were relocating a "100 percent hot blooded and angry" rattlesnake in his front yard Monday -- convinced that the critter posed no danger because its trademark rattles were missing.
"No rattles, not a rattle snake," Trent said the neighbor boy told him when he released the snake in Trent's yard. "I learned it in school."
Well, sometimes, and Trent -- who said he was raised on a ranch -- knows that Mr. Rattler sometimes loses his trademark rattles, but is still capable of packing quite a punch.
"My only issue is that some people seem to think they are garden snakes given that they lack rattles," he said.
So, here's a little video on identification, and hopefully you'll give Mr. Rattler a chance to get out of your way before you go reaching for the shovel.
Thanks, Trent!
I saw a 5 foot long one stretched out on Mitchell Cyn Rd going up the mountain one time and it had a rather large lump fairly close to the head. Proof he had just eaten. I took a stick and picked it up and tossed it in the bushes. They are actually rather docile once they eat for quite awhile. This one actually could have died as a fellow MTB rider could have ridden over it easily on the way back towards the parking lot.
The one in Texas that was heading to some kids playing in the rocks wasn't so lucky. I killed him with a rock. Received high praise from the Park Ranger for saving the kids. I would be a pracitcal and pragmatic lover of nature. Not a zealot with blinders on.