Posted on 10/21/2017 1:24:20 PM PDT by beaversmom
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — Rattlesnake activity forced park managers to close Cottonwood Canyon Trail in North Table Mountain Park.
The temporary closure started Friday. It wasn’t known how long it would last.
Officials with Jefferson County Open Space said there is a concentration of rattlesnakes near the trail what are getting ready to hibernate. They closed the area for public safety.
A man died two weeks ago after a rattlesnake bit him while he was hiking not far away in Mount Galbrath Park in Golden. It’s about two miles away from the Cottonwood Canyon Trail.
A lot depends on if the rattlesnake has eaten recently regarding the quantity of the toxin. Young rattlesnakes are potentially more dangerous because they are not able to regulate as well the amount of toxin. Years ago I had just did an inspection and was writing a report. My sciatica was bothering me so I raised my left foot on top of a elevated carson box. All of a sudden the contractor tapped on my shoulder and pointed down to coiled young rattlesnake. Fortunately for me the snake was cold and very docile.
>>They can hibernate in massive numbers. Party all winter long.<<
We have a crap load of’em in West Texas. Ever hear of the Sweetwater, Texas Rattlesnake roundup?
http://www.rattlesnakeroundup.net/
I believe Long Island has no poisonous snakes.
We have timber rattlers and copperheads in northern NJ (along the NY border), and you’d never know it in terms of warnings. I believe the worst risk is to rock climbers as that slowly grows in popularity, because they have the best chance of touching/bothering one without warning to either party. When hiking, the snakes feel your vibrations and really make an effort to get away from you; the copperhead is more dangerous because it is slower (and therefore may feel forced to defend itself).
FWIW, I don’t believe anyone has ever been killed by one of these snakes in NJ or NY in recorded history.
Growing up on the eastern plains of Colorado I remember seeing many rattlesnake roundups. Quite a site.
I like to run on trails on our front range and joke about watching out for Rocks, Roots and Rattlesnakes.
Not true! Add Ireland to your list of vacation spots. Rain, beer, good dairy products, beautiful women, and rocks!
(By your comments you appear to have a patron Saint, Patrick of Ireland.)
I remember traveling through Arizona on I-10, stopping at a rest stop. When we got out and walked toward the bathrooms, there was a sign with a rattlesnake, “watch for snakes”.
Eeeeek. I'm not really scared of snakes, but they always seem to give ya that firs initial startle.
I have been once. Did not participate in the hunt, but the whole festival was neat. I mostly pursue warm blooded meat and fish.
My Oscar is hell on snakes, she has been bitten at least twice that I know of. They end up dead in the front door step regardless.
“They can hibernate in massive numbers. Party all winter long.”
Rattlepalooza, great.
Time to round them up.
I have no rattlebugs nearby, yet my brother has them two counties from here. There are copperhead and moccasin and coral here.
Week before last I counted 4 dead prairie rattlers dead long 119.
Actually one wasn’t dead, it was coiled in the middle of the lane, I missed it (on the bike), it struck at the car behind me and disappeared. Saw it mangled up on the shoulder the next day.
I have pics of a 7 ft bull snake crossing a parking lot, headed towards a prairie dog colony for meal before it’s winter nap.
It’s that time of the year.
Long Island has been rid of poisonous snakes for quite a few decades. Over a century actually. Just like in the western roundups the good folks here on Long Island rounded up all the rattlers/copperheads till they were gone. Plenty upstate and Jersey and Connecticut though.
I don’t mind snakes as rodent control. Just not ones with hypodermic needles filled with toxins imbedded in their heads.
thanks
Hugs to Oscar. Be careful, kitty. Good thing he has nine lives.
If it is any consolation, you can hope for a “dry bite”; injection of venom isn’t automatic. Again, I take comfort in the fact that nobody dies from these bites here.
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