Question:

Just how "bad" and "mean" are rattlesnakes anyway?
[BACK TO FAQ PAGE]

It may asking too much for everyone to learn to love rattlesnakes, but when placed into their true perspective, we can hopefully begin to see that rattlesnakes are not quite what they have been cracked up to be!! Actually, they are quite fascinating and as critters go, they are most adaptable and enduring. It is safe to say that most people view them with considerable fear and apprehension! It is also likely safe to say that few animals could use a make-over in their public relations image as much as the rattler. It is pretty clear visiting with the average person that the nasty reputation of rattlesnakes is about as low as it can get! The image portrayed in the movies and on television about the rattler leaves little doubt that they are cold-blooded killers capable of dealing quick death in a single venomous strike with those awesome huge fangs! Most people come away from a real encounter or even a movie containing rattlesnakes with every thing they have ever heard or seen about these snakes firmly supported. Too bad for the snake!

In reality, while these snakes may at times be dangerous indeed, placed into the proper perspective within their environmental and ecological situations, the rattlesnake can be easily understood as just another struggling animal equipped by Mother Nature to satisfy its rightful and basic needs for survival. They are simply well-equipped hunters assuming their role in the overall great food chain of our planet. In order to even be there, each snake has had to endure the test of life, develop coping skills, hone hunting, capture, and feeding techniques, and master every conceivable survival trick. They are more easily understood when seen as the overall small (in relation to humans ) animal out there applying their skills at avoiding a losing confrontation with larger animals while filtering through their own encounters to seek out shelter, water, food, and the like. They do not do anything at all that other animals don't do and have the same basic goals. If we think of them in these terms, we can easily help foster outdoor behaviors which help us avoid snake encounters or worse, painful bites. They will usually be found near shelter, water, and food in that exact order. Due to numerous predators, they must have protective shelter close at hand just to reach a point where they survive long enough to realize thirst or hunger! Their intensively effective camouflaged skin pattern is a highly developed process of having emergency shelter always readily available simply by lying still to hide. Then water is next as an essential need, just like for all animals. Not only does their food supply often live near water, but the snake itself must seek it out in some manner and in a timely fashion too. Creeks, ponds, and other watery places should always be suspect for frequented habitat. Finally, food is apparent as a required need. While the rattler has a slow digestive tract by our standards, it must feed regularly and at the right times. Daily hunting may not be needed after a gorging meal, but hunger will visit again another day before long. The predator continues to move on.

And so the snake applies its skills and equipment to make it in the world! Not unlike ourselves, a fact that we all must also face daily! It is the equipment that they possess that strikes terror, but even then we must realize that this specialized feeding acquisition system is targeted at small animals which represent prey and food for the snake. To animals in the range of man, these systems are not designed to do the same thing nor are they applied in the same manner. Escape is the first reaction of snakes when humans arrive on the scene. If hiding does not work and flight is not possible, then it may be time to fight. The rattlesnake can display a formidable presentation aimed at instilling respect or fear in continuing the encounter. It is with this action that it wins the prize as the most fearful creature one can run across on a simple hike. Actually, the goal is still the same - to help support an end to confrontation and cease hostilities! If it works the snake survives. In the worst case situation where a bite actually results, even then the worst is often not "movie grade" material! More times than not, survival is never in question, and often when viewed in retrospect, the victim understands the reasons for the resulting bite along with a new found appreciation for the fact that bites are overrated in "moviedom"! The fatality rate and even the envenomation rate from such bites are both infinitely lower than most people are willing to readily accept. Unfounded fears may persist long after facts are known in any field of reality! Thus, rattlesnakes are severely overrated as animals go.

The more people responsibly learn about rattlesnakes, the more they come to know and understand them for what they represent. They are not the wicked, evil, stalking dealers of death (at least to man) that our society has largely made them out to be. Placed alongside all predators, including man, they rate only about mid-range in their powers and potential! For most people, there is much to learn about these creatures. This task is important from both the snake's perspective and that of those who seek to truly enjoy our great out-of-doors. Learn avoidance techniques first and then graduate up to more intense enjoyment activities by choice when it comes to snakes! They are, indeed, fascinating and awesome to behold in their natural but understandable environments!

Learn more about snakes from our video by the same name. More About Snakes can be an exciting and educational way to quickly view and pick up the basics. Our whole series of audios and videos are aimed at fun ways to know what you need to know! They support the goals of our web site in providing information based upon our experiences about SNAKES!
[BACK TO FAQ PAGE]

Happy Trails!