Many
of the areas where we often go camping are home to the
endangered massassauga rattlesnake. The beautiful,
windswept islands and shores of Georgian Bay are filled
with many small wetland areas that are a perfect habitat
for this unusual reptile. While the massassauaga is a
highly venomous snake, serious injury or death resulting
from snakebites is a very uncommon occurrence in the
area. Encounters between rattlesnakes and people don't
happen often as the snakes are mostly nocturnal, quite
shy and well camouflaged. Whenever possible, the snakes
avoid people. If they can't get away quietly, they'll
sound their rattle as a warning. While their fangs are
capable of delivering a very powerful venom, studies have
shown that they usually don't release large amounts and
sometimes their bite may release no venom at all.
Rattlesnakes
often hunt by waiting in ambush. In the Georgian Bay
Islands National Park, the rangers have done studies on
the snakes by equipping some of them with radio
transmitters. When doing their tracking, they found that
quite often they could walk right over top of a location
where a snake would be hiding and the snake would give no
indication that it was there. People traveling in the
islands and shoreline of Georgian Bay probably pass by
more rattlesnakes than they'd ever imagine, but rarely
become aware of the reptile.
Rattlesnakes
don't have very good eyesight and are deaf. They usually
become aware of people coming because they are very
sensitive to vibrations in the ground. Rattlesnakes are
members of the pit viper family of serpents. They are
called pit vipers because of an organ (the pit) that
looks like an extra nostril located between their nose
and their eyes. This organ is an infrared sensing device
that gives the snake a very accurate image of the things
around it from the heat that they give off.
The
most distinctive thing about rattlesnakes is of course
the rattle at the end of their tail. The first time
people hear this sound, they seem to know instantly that
it represents danger and back away. Most people comment
that the first time they hear the rattle, the hair on the
back of their neck seems to stand on end. This might
indicate that we have an ancestral understanding of the
danger. Although we call the appendage at the end of the
snake's tail a rattle; the sound it makes is actually
more like a sharp, high-pitched buzz. When the snake
shakes its tail to make the sound, the rattle moves so
fast that the human eye just sees it as a blur. There is
an irony in the noisemaker, as the snake can't hear its
own rattle because it's stone deaf.
Our
first encounter with rattlesnakes was one that Rolf had
on the Moon River. He was on a solo trip, paddling from
the highway to the mouth of the river then back. When he
came home from his trip, he told us of his
experience.
"I
chose a nice campsite near the entrance to a small canyon
just upstream from Moon Falls, and set about organizing
my gear. After getting the tent set up, I went to gather
wood for a fire to cook supper on. It didn't take long to
gather enough small branches to make a twig fire. Once I
had as much as I could carry in both arms, I made my way
back to the tent along a small trail. It was a little
difficult to see where I was going over the pile of wood,
so I had to twist my body a little to get the branches
out of the way.
The
day had been long and hot and I was wearing only a
T-shirt, shorts and a pair of running shoes as I walked
along the trail. Being a little tired from the day's
exercise and heat, I didn't have much on my mind except
the food that would soon be prepared back at the tent.
Suddenly,
I was jolted back to full alertness. From somewhere on
the trail near my feet I could hear the buzzing sound of
a rattlesnake. My problem was that I couldn't see it
because it was hidden from view by the pile of wood I was
carrying
Without
even thinking about it, I jumped back and twisted
sideways in an effort to both escape the danger and get a
look at where the snake was located. Out of the corner of
my eye, I could see a long thin shape lunging at my leg.
Moments later I felt a sharp pain at my shin. With my
heart pounding, dreading what had just happened, I
stepped back farther to get away from the danger and
dropped the load of wood to examine my leg.
Shaking
with fear, I sat down on a rock and carefully examined
the area where I expected to find the puncture wounds
from the snake. After several close examinations, I could
find no wound and started to have doubts about what had
happened.
Getting
up slowly I walked back in the direction of where I
encountered the snake to see if there were any clues
about what had happened. It took but a moment to find
both the snake and the explanation. A short distance in
front of the snake lay one of the long, dark, thin
branches that I'd been carrying. It must have come out of
the bundle when I jumped and twisted in an effort to get
away from the rattler. When it landed on the ground, it
must have hit end first and bounced back towards my
legs.
When
my nerves finally settled down, I used a long stick to
gently pin down the rattler's head so it could be safely
picked up and moved well away from the camping area. It
was easy to see that the rattler didn't appreciate being
handled, but it didn't object very strenuously. When it
was released some time later, it didn't seem to show any
resentment or fear at having been handled. It just
quietly slithered away from the release area and wasn't
seen again."
Any
time we travel in rattlesnake country, we always caution
our children about being very careful and always being on
the lookout for snakes. This always works for at least
short periods of time. Unfortunately, children often get
wound up in their play activities, so we have to remind
then to settle down and pay more attention to the
potential dangers. It is very important that they don't
move too quickly when in rattlesnake habitat to make sure
that they don't suddenly come upon a resting snake. Given
enough time, the rattlers will get out of the way. We
encourage the kids to use a walking stick when traveling
in areas that are overgrown with weeds or tall grass. The
stick is used to brush aside the undergrowth ahead of the
area where they're walking. This makes it easier to see
what's ahead and will usually cause the snake to start to
rattle, which provides an earlier warning. Staying on
established paths and camp sites makes it easier to see
because the undergrowth has been trampled. We rarely see
any rattlesnakes while traveling and on several occasions
when we've gone out specifically to look for them,
they've been very hard to find.