Posted on 06/19/2021 7:18:44 AM PDT by SJackson
This is a serious rattlesnake den!
Most people either love or hate snakes. Regardless of your opinions on these reptiles, most of us can agree we do not want to encounter too many venomous snakes in our outdoor adventures here in North America. Of course, it can be rather difficult to do that if you are in a major rattler snake state like Texas, Arizona, or New Mexico.
In the case of today's video, it is Montana. This is not an ordinary snake sighting either. Literally dozens of rattlesnakes have all crammed into a small area, hiding out in crevices and a large hole in the ground.
As dozens of rattlesnakes rattle away in the hole, the brave cameraman sticks a GoPro on a stick deep into the den to get way closer and personal with the snakes than most would like. At least using this method, you do not need to fear snakebites.
The interesting thing with this video is that even though there were dozens of snakes in this hole, we did not see even one rattlesnake bite the camera. It all goes back to the fact that most species of rattlesnakes are probably more fearful of humans than we are of them.
Most snakes simply want to be left alone so they can spend time basking in the sun or hunting down their favorite meals in amphibians, and small mammals. Den sites this large are usually uncommon in most ecosystems. Although it is common for the pit vipers to gather in places like this when they go into hibernation during colder times of year.
Whether you love or hate snakes, it is important for rattlesnake populations to be maintained carefully because of the work they do keeping many rodent populations in check. With a little common sense in snake country, you can avoid dens like this entirely.
One must be careful when crossing rock piles and outcrops in snake country because denning sites like this are not a place you want to stumble into by accident. The best thing to do if you come across a den like this, whether the species is prairie rattlesnakes, timber rattlesnakes, western diamondback rattlesnakes, etc, is to leave them alone. Most snakebites happen when someone tries to capture or harm the serpents.
Years ago … when teen boys used to do this sort of thing … a friend and I were walking the sticks outside of town where I grew up basically hunting anything that moved. Fish … squirrels … didn’t matter. After we had had enough, we decided to head back to the car.
On the way, we came across a huge pile of rusted metal. My buddy started to walk across the top of it and was right about in the center of it when I saw a rattlesnake under one of the sheets of metal about 10 yards ahead of me.
The snake noticed me too and coiled up and began rattling. Then the rattling noise increased and was almost deafening. So many rattlers! At this point, I told my buddy to stop and don’t move because he was on top of a huge rattlesnake den. He shot off of that pile before I could blink and ran right at me. We both backed up a bit and he started firing. My .410 wasn’t loaded but I started putting shells in and quickly as I could.
My first shot was the snake right by my foot. Second was that first snake I saw. We just kept firing and reloading. Not sure how many we killed before we ran off.
Ah … good times.
I don’t know either but you usually get my attention to cool stuff.
What people need to understand is that everything has its place in nature.
Many years ago, the people of Connecticut decided the local rattlesnake population was “bad” and annihilated them.
Then the white footed mouse population exploded, as their #1 predator was now gone.
White footed mice are a necessary intermediate host for Borrelia burgdorferi.
Now Lyme CT is infamous and the once endemic disease is everywhere.
All because they killed those snakes.
When you wipe out something you hate or fear, often, something worse moves in.
” The best thing to do if you come across a den like this”
Is, call for a satchel charge or a flamethower.
When I was a kid, my buds and I would do the same kind of hunting with a .22. One day, we took a bunch of bottle rockets to the bayou. Once the fuse was burning, it would keep burning underwater, so we would send bottle rocket into the water and watch them blow up. Great fun until one of them blew up in a nest of cotton mouths. They aren’t like rattlers, they will chase you.
0.0
Stress the last paragraph
“we did not see even one rattlesnake bite the camera”.
Of course not. They don’t strike cool objects. Leave the camera in the sun for an hour and try that again.
“They don’t strike cool objects.”
Pit vipers. Also know for conserving their venom.
Snakes on a plain....
My point is you’ll hear from all sorts of folks telling about their benefits, v they have to be respected, yadda yadda...
No. Kill it. It wants to kill yo, so don’t feel bad about killing it.
Bees are another thing. I know what they mean to the environment. But they set up a hive on my property and start coming after me I don’t care about “oh, just don’t bother them” apparently my existence bothers them and I control fire at my whim so I win.
We have an area on the Tennessee River called Moccasin Bend...
Not the shoe....named for the snakes...
This is snakes ...not sharks...
I lived in FL for 25 years so I know all about them. Here in MO, it’s copperheads and rattlers.
MMM good. MM good. Thats what Campbell soups are, MMM good.
Diesel fuel and matches sounds like perfect counterpart to “huge den of rattlesnakes”.
We have those too...
OK More ammo and a flamethrower!
I agree. We have killer-type bees here. Some built a nest in the wall of my house. Finally had an exterminator kill them and remove the nest from the wall. $500 and worth every dollar! I hear about how bees are disappearing but in the spring our trees HUM with them!
I like rattlesnakes in the wild but I spent $2000 saving our Border Collie puppy (now 13) after a baby one bit him. I’ve killed 5’ rattlers in my yard. Happily, other snakes have moved in and out competed the rattlesnakes for the last 10 years.
“That would be a “nuke the site from orbit” type situation for me.”
It’s the only way to be sure.
Now, that’s what I call an overabundance of, “NOPE ROPE.”
Too much, “Danger Noodle.”
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