Posted on 06/20/2005 4:08:56 AM PDT by onyx
The message was clear for state fire crews training near Campo a few weeks ago: Lots of rattlesnakes are out and active as spring molts into summer.
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County wildlife and emergency personnel say the rattlesnake population is growing; others disagree. This sign at the Mission Trails Regional Park gives information about rattlesnakes, which may be found there.
In the span of a few hours, the fire team spotted at least four rattlers, including one that had to be removed from near the portable toilets.
"We are seeing rattlesnakes everywhere in the county this year, and they are very aggressive," said Matt Streck, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in El Cajon.
That also may be the case across Southern California, where some park rangers and snake experts report finding more evidence than usual of the feared reptiles – even before the traditional late-summer peak season.
Others, however, question the supposedly rapid rise in rattlers, saying it's a bit of a stretch biologically.
Either way, commonly cited rattlesnake bite statistics are reassuring: More than half of the victims are young men trying to show off their snake-handling skills while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, say park officials and snakebite specialists.
Without a historical snake census, tracking rattlers in Southern California is mostly guesswork.
The theory in the "more snakes" camp is that heavy winter rains created a bumper crop of vegetation, which in turn provides abundant food and cover for rodents. Legions of rodents invite more snakes.
Skeptics say it's unlikely that the rattler population grew in a matter of months. They say a more probable explanation for increased sightings is that snakes are more active in years like this one, when they don't have to worry so much about conserving energy.
"Biologically, it doesn't make sense to me," Brian Cahill, spokesman for the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, said of the purportedly swelling ranks of snakes. "Every step up the food chain, there is going to be a (time) lag. I just can't see that abundance of snakes just yet."
On that point, he's got backing from veteran San Diego trapper Thomas Lindemood.
Lindemood said the number of snake calls to his office is slithering upward, but that's a function of the massive wildfires in recent years that drove all manner of wildlife from the hills. He charges about $100 per visit.
"They are close to us, and we see more of them, which gives the impression that there are more snakes out there than in the past," Lindemood said.
At the San Diego Zoo, animal care manager John Kinkaid said he mountain bikes regularly and hasn't seen a wild rattlesnake this year. However, he figures the rains and bountiful rodents eventually will lead to higher survival rates for rattlers that hatch in San Diego County.
Richard Clark, toxicology director at the University of California San Diego Medical Center, said snake bites in the region appear to be up 10 percent to 25 percent over a typical year.
Between 25 and 50 rattler bites are reported annually in San Diego County. Bites are rarely fatal but often very painful.
"Many people who have big swollen arms and legs will have a hard time at work for a month afterward," Clark said.
Snake experts do agree on this point: Rattler run-ins are mostly avoidable.
"The people who spend the most time worrying about snakes are probably the ones least likely to have problems with them," said Cahill, the Anza-Borrego spokesman.
Cahill and other snake experts urged people to follow a few common-sense techniques: Be cautious and look ahead on trails; don't climb rocks where the handholds can't be seen; and don't touch or play with venomous reptiles.
"If you see a rattlesnake, don't try to kill it because that is where a lot of people end up in trouble," said the zoo's Kinkaid. "Just step away from it slowly."
Bite victims should stay calm, move slowly and call for emergency medical help, said Clark, the UCSD doctor.
He said the standby tricks from old Westerns – such as trying to suck out the poison – are ineffective and should be avoided.
"We don't recommend anybody do any cutting or sucking," he said.
At the hospital, bite victims typically are injected with antivenin to neutralize the venom. The vast majority of patients live to tell about their run-in with a rattler and try to explain how they beat the overwhelming odds against being bitten by one.
"Either way, commonly cited rattlesnake bite statistics are reassuring: More than half of the victims are young men trying to show off their snake-handling skills while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, say park officials and snakebite specialists."
Hey, hold my beer and watch this!
Two out of the three incidents I know of personally, involved drugs. Two stoners showing off there pet rattlesnakes.
I ran across one during bow season, that was fun, NOT!!!!!!!
More rats = more snakes.......
Uh........ did I mention, I HATE SNAKES, especially rattlesnakes?
Do you remember the cartoon B.C.? My husband used to call me "the fat babe" because she had the club and was always hitting the snake. Difference was the ones I hit didn't live to crawl away.
My first job after finishing college was managing a cow calf operation in Central Texas. The ranch had 10 or 11 semi-feral cats which would do the same thing. It was like watching ballet seeing the way those felines would gang up upon, then taunt and distract the snake until one could get a kill shot.
The only time I ever saw cats earn their keep.
Now I know how I can justify the house cats to my husband. See, honey, at least we don't have snakes in the kitchen......
I will have to work on that.
Bear in mind, these weren't house cats. If they didn't kill their own dinner they didn't eat.
I guess that cricket that was savagely hunted down does not count.....
That is a vile canard.
Like grizzly bears, wolves, mountain lions, and great white sharks, they will only bite you as a last resort, if you corner and attack them. They will do everything in their power to avoid nasty, marauding humans.
How do I know?
An envirowhacko told me so!
To get my boots, I had to stomp the rattler with my sandals.
I'd rather not talk about my rattlesnake skin codpiece.
I hate snakes
My husband has had encounters with thousands of them in his outdoor life and has only been hit by a rattler once, it hit at the top of his boot and so caused no harm but he didn't live to strike again, very few of the snakes he encounters live to see another day.
Do that wrong and its called "The Last Hurrache".
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