For those that are squeamish this is a bit scary to watch, but it is an interesting view of how rattlesnakes will gather. I can recall seeing a Marty Stouffers film showing rattlers gathering and actually doing what is referred to as a snake dance. I personally came across a den of 5 or 6 large diamond backs under a huge boulder as a teen. I made an immediate exit from the area.
Posted by Mark Seaver on October 22, 2015 at 11:34 AM
That's quite a pit of rattlers. I an amazed at how little attention the snakes paid to the camera until it got shoved in their faces. Clearly it was on a long pole. Had my own run-in with a Diamondback as a ~10 year old walking across a vacant lot in the middle of town (a very small town) to the swimming pool. When the snake started rattling, my two friends raced forward, and I could see the snake striking at them as they passed (luckily it missed). I then walked a long way around and avoided that path for quite a while.
Mark, although I have been around diamond backs and Mojave greens all my life, I've yet to encounter any over the last several years. I never let my guard down while out in the bush, and I also wear knee high snake guards on most desert outings....
The worst snake bite victim I ever came in contact with was not out in the wilds, but in an emergency room in Long Beach where I was a telephone repairman years ago. The person in the ER was in serious shape from a sidewinder bite on his wrist. The man was sitting in a bar eating lunch when two kids approached him and asked if he wanted to see their box of flowers. So, they lifted the lid and the snake leaped up & struck the poor guy on the wrist. When I saw him his entire arm was black as coal. Thankfully they had anti venom in the area and got it quick enough to save him......
Wow! That is a well-populated pit! I had to kill a rattlesnake that was living in our rock wall out in Central Oregon last summer...didn't want to, but our dog sure loves to chase lizards on those rocks. Does anyone know where this video was shot? It looks a lot like eastern Oregon (Burns or Summer Lake area), but I suppose most of the southwest has sage and rabbitbrush flats like this.
Discussion
4 replieshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avtZJKydB-E
The worst snake bite victim I ever came in contact with was not out in the wilds, but in an emergency room in Long Beach where I was a telephone repairman years ago. The person in the ER was in serious shape from a sidewinder bite on his wrist. The man was sitting in a bar eating lunch when two kids approached him and asked if he wanted to see their box of flowers. So, they lifted the lid and the snake leaped up & struck the poor guy on the wrist. When I saw him his entire arm was black as coal. Thankfully they had anti venom in the area and got it quick enough to save him......