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Rattlesnake (16)
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![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 902 W: 61 N: 1421]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif) (5067) | Western or Prairie Rattlesnake
(Crotalus viridis)
Location: Writing On Stone Provincial Park, Alberta Canada
We just returned from our annual Canoe Trip. This year we canoed the Milk River in southeastern Alberta.
I went out for a walk one evening and right on the path in front of me was a baby Rattlesnake. This young rattlesnake coiled up was about 4 inches across. Thank goodness I was watching the path in front of me otherwise I could have been bitten. I found out a few interesting fact about the Rattlesnake.
Unfortunately the Rattlesnake is on the endangered list here in Canada. In the U.S. there are 16 species of Rattlesnakes and 7 are listed as endangered. I won't go into the gory details of what humans do to exploit the Rattlesnake.
Rattlesnakes can not hear but do have the ability to feel vibrations through the ground. Rattlesnakes can get a lot of information from the air around them from the use of their olfactory cues in their nostrils and their forked tongue which can transfer tastes.
Another interesting ability is that they can see heat by the use of facial pits between their eyes and nostrils. They can actually see a thermal picture of an animal or human.
In Canada Rattlesnakes will congregate in the fall to hibernate for the winter. (only because our winters are long and cold)
Helpful, Rattlesnakes help to control rodents which can damage crops and spread disease if their numbers are not kept down.
In Alberta the Rattlesnake is found in open grasslands on the SE side of the province. Females become reproductive at four of five years of age and will breed twice a year.
Hand held....from a distance |
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