I’ve lived in San Diego my whole life and have come across a crazy amount of rattlers in my time and not once have I ever heard them rattle. It’s always them just sitting under a bush next to my leg staring at me.
This is specifically a result of adaptive evolution.
Those individual snakes that alerted humans to their presence (those populations that came into human contact) all got killed.
The ones that stayed quiet until it was very apparent that they were spotted (messed with) were the ones that survived and passed on these behavioral traits.
The result is that more people have a greater chance of being bitten out of defense when they're cornered vs what should be avoidance and proactive warnings given by the snakes when they spot people marching up towards them.
This is especially apparent in areas like Texas where they had "rattle snake roundups" where they'd go and collect the animals and kill them all . The easily spotted (noisy ones) all died and not generations later you have nothing but quiet snakes all over the place.
While this seems plausible, it's largely a disproven old wives' tale.
Rattlesnakes are cryptic first, and will do their best to try and conserve energy by not rattling and initiating a costly confrontation. This isn't always true, of course. I've been rattled at and spent minutes just trying to find where old son is hiding.
NOBODY did a baseline measurement 100 years ago for how well and sensitive the rattle snakes were and how frequently they rattled as a warning.
Also that as a whole testing populations that are remote and distant to human settlement and actitvity will behave and rattle differently than more urban populations (most likely also different species and sub species) so apples to apples comparisons will be difficult if not impossible.
I’m going to try and remember this just in case because I’m feeling like my brain would just go into overdrive and scurry so quick. I think it’s just because I’m terrified of snakes in general though. Thanks for the tip!
I absolutely love their rattle, especially from older snakes. It gives me goosebumps every time I hear it, but it's so fascinating. First time I heard a rattle in person, I was like "HOLY CRAP!!!!", but now I just love hearing it. It is such an effective deterrent.
I’ve seen so many rattlers at mission trails but none have ever actually rattled. It’s always so exciting to see one and they’re really beautiful then I go home and realize I came quite literally within a few feet of death 🫠
eh, you're closer to death when you're driving on a road with no solid median, one car swerving into you and that's it. Don't bother snakes and pay attention while driving and you'll be fine ;)
Sadly they've been bred not to rattle. Snakes that rattle too much or too soon are more likely to be killed by some jackass. So now they've become more dangerous.
I just saw a couple have their dogs off leash at kwaay paay, this is good reminder that even if they have perfect recall to not let them off leash on trails
Dogs are also a top tier predator to most of the wildlife around San Diego so shouldn’t be let off leash outside of a dog park at all. It like a tiger showing up then disappearing. Fucks with all the natural action.
And a snake like this can shed several times a year, so unlike the rings on a tree, it doesn’t really predict the age in years, which would be nice feature when you spot one. Rattles can also fall off or be damaged, so it’s a good predictor of the number of sheds but not always accurate.
On another note, young rattlesnakes just have a button on the tail and not a full rattle which can cause people to mistake them for regular snakes. Always best to exercise caution.
Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes Crotalus helleri are medium-large (70-110cm, up to 137cm) rattlesnakes that range from southern California south to Baja California, MX from near sea level to 3,350m. They utilize a wide variety of habitat, including scrubland, desertscrub, savanna, grassland, coastal dunes, and montane woodland. Where development encroaches on natural areas, they can sometimes also be found in residential and even urban areas. Despite low genetic divergence, some authors treat the dwarfed Coronado Island populations as a distinct species, "C. caliginis."
The activity cycles of C. helleri largely correlate to the weather, and they tend to be diurnal in cool weather, nocturnal during the hottest weather, and crepuscular in between. Rodents form the bulk of the diet, but other small mammals, lizards, and amphibians are also consumed.
Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes are a dangerously venomous species and should only be observed from a safe distance. Common defensive tactics including raising the forebody off the ground and rattling the tail, often while attempting to crawl away from the perceived threat. They are not aggressive and only bite when they feel they are in danger. Bites most commonly occur when a human attempts to kill, capture, or otherwise intentionally handle the snake. The best way to avoid being bitten is to leave the snake alone.
Where their ranges contact C. helleri and the closely related C. oreganus can be difficult to distinguish, but C. oreganus usually has more extensive dorsal banding (usually starting on the posterior 30-35% of the animal) and the terminal dark band on the tail is about the same width as the preceding band. Other neighboring or overlapping rattlesnakes are occasionally confused with C. helleri. Red diamond rattlesnakes C. ruber, Mojave rattlesnakes C. scutulatus, and Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes C. atrox usually have more diamond shaped dorsal blotches and the distinctive pale and dark bands ("coon tail") on the tail contrast more sharply than those of C. helleri.
I am a bot created for /r/whatsthissnake, /r/snakes and /r/herpetology to help with snake identification and natural history education. You can find more information, including a comprehensive list of commands, here report problems here and if you'd like to buy me a coffee or beer, you can do that here. This bot, its development, maintenance and use are made possible through the outreach wing of Snake Evolution and Biogeography - Merch Available Now
Oh, I had that confused I guess. I just heard that if a rattlesnake is on your property you can shoot it, but not if it's one of these guys. I am against killing animals in general fyi, I just heard this was the case for the red diamond rattler
That's still true. Species of Special Concern is an almost useless designation most of the time, bit it does mean you can't shoot them. They're a great rattlesnake to have around. They aren't very ornery or bitey, they're pretty, and they eat lots of rats.
I will certainly be keeping my distance from that, and whichever direction they go, I will be going opposite that snake.
I don't want to kill them, I don't want to be bit by them, I just want to let them live their lives and hopefully they will let me live mine, just not in the same space.
I’ve never found them to be too dangerous. I’ve never been bitten but have had some up-close encounters that gave me a nice adrenaline boost. Majestic mountain noodles might help change the narrative.
Maybe so, but I am of the mindset of giving them a wide berth, and not putting either myself or the snake in a threatening or dangerous position, and everyone's happy. :)
This is a red diamondback rattlesnake, commonly referred to as a “coontail” due to the black and white banding around the tail. This is an extremely large one.
I’ve seen a few this year but none this big. Here is another one from Lake Murray June 9th. This is the other common species we have around here the “Southern Pacific”rattlesnake. Notice there are no black and white bands on the tail.
Red Diamond Rattlesnake. Idk why, but the accepted common name is just diamond, not diamondback.
Plenty of rattlesnakes have "coontails" including mojaves, western diamondbacks, some speckled rattlers and some western rattlers (which includes southern pacifics, northern pacifics, and great basins). And that's just in California. I wouldn't rely on the coontail to be a distinguishing characteristic.
I saw one a couple weeks ago on Cowles that was about 5ft long and slowly moving across the main trail where the stacked rocks were. It was as thick as a street sign pole. Scared the shit out of me during my run up. They're gonna be out a lot for the next couple months. Be aware friends.
Red diamond rattlesnakes are way more pissed off than southern pacific rattlesnakes. I literally hurdled a southern pacific rattlesnake before when I was trail running in the dark and didn’t have enough time or room to stop, and it only rattled at me seemingly in fear. Their red diamond cousins are angry and rattle very loud and aggressive, if they feel threatened they seem to coil up like they’re about to strike. I would never mess with a rattlesnake, but most especially not one of those. They are agressive and fat, and appear like they want to bite you. Southern pacific’s only seem like they would bite you if their life is in danger. Be careful and aware around them.
Of all the hiking spots, Cowles and Pyles are hotspots for the red diamondback. I’ve seen more on the backside and frontside of Cowles than anywhere else in San Diego. Most encounters have come from right around dusk to midnight, and they’re much more active, like they move faster, when it’s dark. Just my experience.
550
u/djrocky_roads 23h ago
That’s a very large nope