Big Rattlesnake

I received this in an email. Here is the story.

Ever seen a snake of this magnitude???!!!



Ya'll need to forget about those itty, bitty snake-proof boots and
find yourself a full snake-proof SUIT.., AND HAT!!!

The Ohoopee River where this big rattler was killed is outside the city of Vidalia Georgia which is located in ( South Georgia)
near Lyons Georgia . Oh, for reference, the guy stands 6'-2". Seems there's been a boom in the snake population there.




My fellow friends and family,

We have killed 57 rattlesnakes on two separate Ohoopee River trips this year. since mid May. Not one has buzzed! We provoked one fair sized boy with a stick and he coiled & struck at the stick a couple of times before he buzzed up and rattled. The purpose of this explanation is that I have been hearing the same from fellow farmers and hunters in regards to the lack of warning with rattlesnakes.
I had lunch with a friend today and he offered a theory about the fact that these buggers aren't rattling anymore He raised pigs for years and reported that when he would hear a rattlesnake buzzing in the sow pen, the sows would bee line to it and fight over the snake. For the uninformed, pigs love to eat rattlesnakes.. Therefore, the theory is they are ceasing to rattle to avoid detection, since there are plenty of pigs roaming the countryside. I have a neighbor farmer wife who was bitten 3 weeks ago 2 times by the same snake without any warning....she spent 5 days in ICU, in Savannah after 22 vials of anti-venom she is back at the farm and still may lose her foot or worse yet her lower leg.
The days of perceived warning are over. Keep your boots on and use a light when out and about. As you all know, one can pop up just about anywhere! You may wish to forward this to anyone that would be interested.



What do you think?

I'm too lazy to Snopes it, but that picture's been passed around for a while. I know it has been said to be in SC in 2 or 3 different spots.

yeah....I got that too. Several times. (probably because I'm a snake breeder) Although the snake and picture seem to be real....I'm not so sure about the story.

Wow, what a beautiful animal. Good sized snake, for sure. But, look how he's holding it towards the camera with the stick and his hands lined up behind the snake. Must be a bass fisherman.

I don't know about the origin of the picture but it's interesting that you mention that the ones you've seen lately never rattled. In 1994 I was deer hunting near Eufaula, Alabama and was walking back to the car through a palmetto thicket when I was struck above the right ankle by a 4' canebrake rattler that never rattled until after it hit me. Luckily, I made it to the checking station and one of the checkers took me to the hospital. I was pretty sick for awhile but that was about it. It wasn't a dry bite but not much venom was injected and I was released the same day. Since then I've heard, like you, that there seem to be more and more reports of rattlesnakes not rattling, perhaps as a survival response in hopes of not being noticed.

Just to make things clear, it was not my story. All of it was in the email I received except the first sentence and last sentence.

Deadmeat said:

Since then I've heard, like you, that there seem to be more and more reports of rattlesnakes not rattling, perhaps as a survival response in hopes of not being noticed.

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I would call it evolution in action. The ones that rattle first draw attention to themselves and get killed more often by pigs and people, so they don't get as many chances to reproduce. Those that have the trait to not rattle have a higher survival rate, so they get more opportunity to pass that trait on to their offspring. Over time, that survival adaptation becomes more predominant in the species. God's pretty smart that way.

In my limited encounters with rattlers, they almost never rattle until you are right on top of them. I had a dog I was walking out in Oregon spook one up no more than 2 feet to the side of me that never made a sound until the dog keyed on it. I would have walked right by it without ever knowing it was there and unless I'd stepped on it I don't think it would have struck at me. I don't think it's a new phenomenon. Just nature being misunderstood.

From here.....
"In my field experience as a geologist, I’ve encountered many rattlesnakes (26 on one morning), and most of the time they don’t rattle."

... and here...... "whatever the reason, rattlesnakes don't always sound a warning before striking. When you're in rattlesnake country the best way to avoid an unfortunate encounter is to stay alert, keep your eyes peeled as well as your ears, and never assume these poisonous pests will announce their presence in advance."

As someone who's been breeding snakes and studying herpetology since the early 1980s....rattle snakes use their rattle as a warning when they are annoyed or disturbed. Not all snakes are disturbed by people walking by them. Snakes of the same species have different temperaments too. Take any 3 or 4 of the same and each will act/react differently. For anyone interested....snakes don't have ears, therefore, do not hear. They also have very poor eyesight and can only see a few feet clearly. When they are in a shed cycle, their eyesight gets much worse too. If you want to angry a snake.....you almost need to work at it..IMHO.

I've had very limited encounters with rattlers. Most times they slither away as I approach. The few that I have encountered I came upon quickly, backed off and they left me alone, as I left them alone.

I spoke to some people in the county that thing was found in and they said that one was in a deer feeder living off of field rats.

I would much rather tussle with a rattle snake then a cotton mouth imho.

I would much rather tussle with a rattle snake then a cotton mouth imho.

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+10 ANYDAY!