Rattlesnake Tales

Forrest M. Mims III

It's easy to walk over or even step on a snake if you're distracted by scenery or busy gardening or playing outdoors. Most times I've done that, the snake was nonpoisonous, but there were a few exceptions.

A few years ago I walked over a brightly colored, very large coral snake while walking to the creek on a pleasant evening. I didn't see the snake until I looked straight down, a view that lasted only a few milliseconds before I jumped away.

One evening I was in the barn collecting some sheep feed from a barrel without realizing that a rattlesnake had arrived there first. In fact, it was neatly coiled between my feet. That experience taught me that a person can jump backward as far as forward with no prior training or experience.

Years ago we were slowly driving along a country road about 15 miles north of Seguin. Our daughter Vicki was in the back of the pickup. Suddenly we spotted a huge rattlesnake moving toward the road. Western diamondbacks can reach seven feet, and this specimen was at least that long. I was genuinely concerned that it might be able to get into the back of the pickup where Vicki was riding.

Figure 1. This rattlesnake was found on the Mims place in South Texas. Photograph by Forrest M. Mims III.

Long ago I led a group of church teenagers on a 1,600-km (1,000-mile) bicycle trip from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Padre Island, Texas. One evening the teens wanted to camp under the only trees we had seen in 80 km (50 miles). While checking the site, I nearly stepped on a big rattler that was entering a hole.

Thinking the kids wouldn't believe their camp site was already taken, I decided to provide proof by catching the snake. So I grabbed his thirteen rattles and pulled, but he didn't budge. Then suddenly his head emerged and lunged toward my hand. I jumped back, breaking off nine of his rattles in the process. When I showed the rattles to the teens, they refused to believe my story.

While rattlesnakes are supposed to buzz their rattles as a warning, mos= t I've encountered didn't bother and simply wanted to be left alone. That's why we never go outdoors at night without a flashlight. Flip flops and sandals are not in style out here.

It's important for children and everyone else who has never seen a rattlesnake to know what they look like. I took the photo that accompanies this column and you can find many others on the Web.

Forrest M. Mims III and his science are featured online at www.forrestmims.org and www.sunandsky.org. Follow his science at twitter.com/fmims. "World of Science" columns are selected and sometimes revised from columns published in the San Antonio Express-News or the Seguin Gazette-Enterprise. The columns are intended for a general audience.

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The Citizen Scientist (03 July 2009).