- Joined
- Aug 8, 2005
- Messages
- 11,498
(Before I get a ration of poo for no pictures again, this encounter prompted me to blow $20+ on quality batteries for the camera.)
My second encounter with these kids in 2 days. On the verge of a dirt road in thick grass and brush in ambush mode, and I'm not going to claim it was out hunting stray bicyclists. I stopped and it posed, giving me a good chance to examine it quite close.
First, these are armed for bear! For those who have encountered rattlers in America like me, the difference is striking - no pun intended.
It was around 22 inches long, small for an adult rattler, but it's body was well over 2 inches thick. It's head a nice broad wedge, an inch of slim throat, then it quickly expanded to this weightlifters physique. The tail tapered almost as quickly to a blunt point. Imagine a cottonmouth that shrank to under 2 feet but kept most of it's mass.
The body was a dark dusty brown. Usually these are like rattlers, a drab blond color. The blotches were connected together. The road kill I saw yesterday the blotches were completely separate. Interesting divergence in color from both being from the same area.
Then the head. Unlike most vipers, the nose is broad and dead flat. Those fangs are right up front at the corners. No long snout getting in the way of a good bite. It kept the head low to the ground and just like a warmed up rattler it tracked me with it's tongue. When I backed to 10 feet it flicked out every 3 to 5 seconds and the closer I got the more rapid it became. The tongue was black BTW.
It's one beautiful animal, and not something anyone who isn't an serious expert should be mucking with. No snake hook capture of these guys with that short powerful body. I'm going to cruise the area with my camera in hopes I get a shot. (And it doesn't.
)
My second encounter with these kids in 2 days. On the verge of a dirt road in thick grass and brush in ambush mode, and I'm not going to claim it was out hunting stray bicyclists. I stopped and it posed, giving me a good chance to examine it quite close.
First, these are armed for bear! For those who have encountered rattlers in America like me, the difference is striking - no pun intended.
It was around 22 inches long, small for an adult rattler, but it's body was well over 2 inches thick. It's head a nice broad wedge, an inch of slim throat, then it quickly expanded to this weightlifters physique. The tail tapered almost as quickly to a blunt point. Imagine a cottonmouth that shrank to under 2 feet but kept most of it's mass.
The body was a dark dusty brown. Usually these are like rattlers, a drab blond color. The blotches were connected together. The road kill I saw yesterday the blotches were completely separate. Interesting divergence in color from both being from the same area.
Then the head. Unlike most vipers, the nose is broad and dead flat. Those fangs are right up front at the corners. No long snout getting in the way of a good bite. It kept the head low to the ground and just like a warmed up rattler it tracked me with it's tongue. When I backed to 10 feet it flicked out every 3 to 5 seconds and the closer I got the more rapid it became. The tongue was black BTW.
It's one beautiful animal, and not something anyone who isn't an serious expert should be mucking with. No snake hook capture of these guys with that short powerful body. I'm going to cruise the area with my camera in hopes I get a shot. (And it doesn't.
)
