Jess- My experience walking through the woods of SE Kentucky have been similar..I'd see on average a half a dozen snakes a year, about half copperheads and half rattlesnakes. Being in the woods everyday for 9 months or so out of the year, I certainly had opportunities for exposure. I too, wonder how many I walked past, as I'd often go hours without seeing my feet, with the ever present foliage we'd walk through. I do recall one rattlesnake of interest, it was probably freshly molted, which would explain its bright clean yellow and white coloration...my crew immediately 'saved' that one, by catching it, placing it in a stake bag, and taking it to a nearby church whose pastor was known as a 'snake-handler'. -Don
> Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:38:22 -0400 > Subject: [ENTS] Venomous snakes in north Georgia > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > > > Ents, > > The snake pictures amongst the Cohutta photos seem to have generated > some interest, so I'll add a little more context for them. When I > used to average four days a week hiking in the southern Appalachians, > I would typically see only one or two venomous snakes per year. The > two I saw on this past trip matches my record for a one week period. > Of course, who knows how many I've walked past in huckleberry > thickets. > > In my experience, the venomous snakes in the Appalachians are not > aggressive. If you don't mess with them, they won't mess with you. > The timber rattlesnake in the photograph never rattled even with five > people and a dog walking past it. I've stepped within a foot of > rattlesnake without it moving and seen people step as close to > copperheads without provoking a reaction. I'm sure there is some > variation from individual to individual, and I've certainly irritated > some rattlesnakes, so I didn't push my luck with the photographs and > used my camera's zoom from about five feet away. > > Venom is energetically expensive to produce and has a high opportunity > cost in terms of catching prey. Hence, relying on camouflage (see > copperhead photo), rattling, or dry biting improves snakes' chances of > long term survival and reproduction. > > Jess > > > _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=PID23384::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:NF_BR_sync:082009 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
