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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#435229
Sitting in our recliners outside (in the shade) I spotted something moving in the grass. Me and my wife had just walked through that area five minutes before.

Score: Squirrel - 0
Timber Rattler - 1
Ed - 1

The tie goes to Ed. :mrgreen:
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Blackfeather666, -Stanley-, Panman and 4 others liked this
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By Intheswamp
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#435239
My people will be talking with your people to talk to my other people that's going to talk to your other people,....too. It's...the American way!!!!!!!!!!!!
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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#435242
I've got to admit, that was a first for me. We were sitting there and I saw something that looked like it was kind of "hopping"...I thought it was a chipmunk or something to start with. I pointed it out to my wife and then I realized it was a snake. I went over to it and it was wrestling with a dead squirrel. The timber rattler was mad as a hatter, too! I couldn't tell if it was trying to eat it or if it was trying to move the squirrel to somewhere it could leisurely choke it down. When I walked over to it it immediately went on high alert...as did I! What is kind of odd is the squirrel already had rigamortis set in...seemed kinda odd.
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By Panman
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Joined:  Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:41 pm
#435254
Intheswamp wrote: Fri May 12, 2023 2:41 am Hmmm, as a peace offering I could send you one of *my* 5000 model in the mail to you.
Image
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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#435258
Interesting observation... The area where the timber rattler had the squirrel is usually an active area for birds and the rodents (chipmunks and squirrels). Yesterday it was like a ghost town around the area. This morning I'm seeing flurry of activity with squirrels scampering around after each other (love is in the air! :roll: ), chipmunks racing here and there, and different birds pecking here and perching there. Much different from yesterday!

A couple of days ago my wife was startled by a semi-fast moving snake that traversed the landing in front of our front porch steps. It headed towards an area where there's low-growing camellias and azaleas...I poked around for a while but never found it. A "snake is a snake is a snake" to her and it was getting over in the late afternoon in a shady area so she didn't get an ID for me other than "...it was a dark one". :) Now, I'm wondering just how long that rattler had been hanging around.

We have "No Legs" that lives here. It is a nice 6+ foot-long rat snake...a *really* nice specimen, big, healthy, etc.,. It is welcome here...but, ol' slit-eyes, no thanky!!!!
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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#435327
We have black racers here, no blue ones...fast suckers, too!!! I remember years ago when I was a kid we were camping at the pond down behind the house. We were all probably 16-17 years old. We were sitting around a small, low table on some short-cut logs playing cards the next morning. Suddenly, a black racer sped through our little circle of tranquility, with kids rolling backwards and flipping and flopping trying to get out of its way...it was long gone when everybody finally quit thrashing around like the original break-dancer!!! :lol: I still say that snake and a buddy were watching us when one of them told the other one, "Here, hold my beer and watch this!!!". :mrgreen:
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By DragonsEye
Posts:  1326
Joined:  Sat Oct 01, 2016 1:22 pm
#435341
Intheswamp wrote: Fri May 12, 2023 2:03 pmNow, I'm wondering just how long that rattler had been hanging around.
Possibly a lot longer than you realized. Surprising that more folks don't have such sightings, really. The typical attitude of many folks I've run into is "well they can go live someplace else -- just not in my yard/park/neighborhood area", when the reality is far different. As we humans continue to encroach upon the various environments around us (destroying many of those environments outright), animals have fewer and fewer places to live that aren't inhabited by humans. Animals were there long before we were and have a right to them. Many folks are totally ignorant of just how much area most animals require. For example, a cougar typically requires anywhere from 50 to 150 square miles (for comparison, the City of Seattle is 92 square miles) of living space. So when someone clear cuts a swath of land to put in a subdivision, I have no sympathy for the residents who now complain there is a cougar in their yard. "But it could attack someone or my pet, Fluffy!" Yeah -- especially if you're an idiot who allows their pet outside for long periods of time unsupervised. Attacks on people are extremely rare. You're far more likely to get killed by a horse or attacked by a domestic (not feral) dog. The indigenous peoples knew enough to keep an eye on their children as they played as well as to stay aware of their surroundings -- unlike so many people today who are completely absorbed in their cell phones.

Injures due to rattlers is actually quite rare. Almost all of the ones that do happen can be attributed to human stupidity (Darwinism in action) ... like being drunk and deciding it would be a "hilariously good idea" to pick a rattler up. Little known fact -- statistically, you're far more likely to get bitten by a baby rattler than an adult. Prevailing theory is that this is probably due to: 1) the fact that there are so many more predators out there for whom a baby rattler would make a nice snack; and 2) the adults learn that their threat display is often enough to deter a would be predator or clumsy mammal who is about to step on them. (Most adult rattler bites on humans are actually "dry bites" -- bites with little to no venom injected ... unless the human is an idiot who can't take a hint.)

The only venomous snake we have here is the eastern massasauga rattlesnake. It's a very shy snake. Fatalities from bites are extremely rare (hasn't been a fatality in at least 20 yrs). 80% of those bitten were ... surprise,surprise ... men -- with bites usually being on the hands and fingers.
Last edited by DragonsEye on Sat May 13, 2023 6:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#435352
Uh, if you look at my username and location you might conclude I've been around snakes a bit. :) I never have, though, seen one dragging it's dinner on the ground so that was kind of a treat to witness. I do wish it had been down in the swamp or on the backside of the property.

Respectfully speaking... I agree 99% with ""well they can go live someplace else -- just not in my yard/park/neighborhood area"". I will say that the "park" depends on what type of park...thus only 99% noted. I value the life, health, and wellbeing of my family and friends way, way more than I do a poisonous snake, so if a poisonous snake is in my yard or a friend's yard or in a playground...they're history. I simply care about the life and health of my family and friends way more than I care about any other creature. This time was no exception.

Btw, your two-foot long massasauga would make a nice meal for the snakes we have down here. :mrgreen:
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By sans
Posts:  402
Joined:  Mon Jan 16, 2023 10:39 pm
#435353
Also don't worry about a tiny snake, i have tons in my yard all the time. Heck, i wouldnt even care if one of the huge gators got in my yard. (there have been gators just strolling around town and in golf courses!)
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By DragonsEye
Posts:  1326
Joined:  Sat Oct 01, 2016 1:22 pm
#435366
Intheswamp wrote: Sat May 13, 2023 3:35 pm Respectfully speaking... I agree 99% with ""well they can go live someplace else -- just not in my yard/park/neighborhood area"".
That's quite alright. You don't need to agree with me. I understand viewpoint -- even if mine is different. ;)

I take it you beloved is not comforted by the fact that snakes like the racers & kingsnakes eat rattlers? Do you have indigo snakes in your area?
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