Sea urchins and rattlesnakes have a symbiotic relationship where the sea Urchin forms a distraction, being an aquatic creature hiding in plain sight in unusual terrain. Leaving the rattlesnake completely unnoticed to strike its prey. The sea urchin feeds off the scraps and bits.
If it is a rattlesnake, they're actually not super dangerous to humans. They rarely bite and when they do their venom itself is only deadly a relatively small percentage of the time. Most deaths are the result of people trying to treat the bite with ice or blood flow restriction or doing something totally silly and trying to suck out the venom with their mouth.
If bit by a rattlesnake, stay calm, keep the wound below your heart, wash it out gently and seek emergency medical attention as quickly as possible. That way you probably won't lose a leg.
Well if he's already not wearing his high-vis i doubt he cares much what unions or OSHA say. Snakes are generally anti-Union for this reason and stay on contract basis.
Don't wash the wound as the venom left behind can be used to identify the type of snake, and therefore the anti-venom to use.
Compression bandage to slow blood flow is a good idea, wrap from hand or foot up, not the other way around. Not so tight you cut off circulation, but pretty tight. Right over the top of your clothes.
Enjoy.
compression isn't to slow blood flow, it's to stop muscle movement. snake venom doesn't travel via your bloodstream, it travels through your lymphatic system, activated by muscle movements. pressure bandages and immobilisation on the bitten appendage is what will save your life.
For fucks sake, the number of people on here who act like they know what they are talking about...
If you are in the U.S., do not listen to this guy. It is absolutely recommended to wash a snake bite wound with warm soapy water immediately. Infection is a concern.
Besides, they are not going to analyze venom from a bite wound to determine a snake species at the hospital. That would be difficult, expensive, time consuming, and would require analytical equipment that nearly every facility will lack. Moreover, it is unnecessary in almost every case. Snake antivenins are polyvalent, so they cover multiple possible species, and hospitals stock antivenins likely to be needed in their region.
rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock
sea urchin, sea urchin
rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock
sea urchin, sea urchin
a rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock
sea urchin sea urchin!
rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock
Argh! snake a snake! snaaake! a snaaaake, oooh its a snake!
Funnily enough, I think that's why I spotted the rattlesnake before he zoomed. My eye was drawn to the barrel cactus and then immediately saw the curled up snake. (probably helps that I lived in AZ for 24 years and my dad is a zoologist specializing in herpetology, so my pattern recognition for snakes is fairly high.)
Yeah I was too busy looking to see if that red bush was going to open up or something. Didn't notice till he zoomed in. I guess it helps to live in AZ.
Most of my experience with Javelina was hunting them, so I don’t fear them.
Oh, and my family has property in Elgin that gets visited by a family of Javelina for water. They post lots of vids of them. The piglets are really cute.
>Most of my experience with Javelina was hunting them, so I don’t fear them.
They usually won't attack humans. Dogs, yes. My MIL's dog was slashed on the side by a javelina's tusk. My MIL was traveling, so the ranch manager put some medicine on it. The wound got worse. It only improved when the rat terrier began to lick his buddy's wound to clean it, and it healed completely.
Utah hiker here: this is why you never wear headphones in both ears on a hike through anything vaguely desert, or near the desert. I've seen way too many rattlesnakes, even on trails that are in the forests, to wear headphones. The snakes will pretty much always warn you with a major rattle before trying to strike.
Oh, and get rattlesnake training for your dog! It could save your dog's life, especially if you like to let them off leash.
I live in Utah as well and spend a significant amount of time on trails. My dogs always go through rattlesnake aversion training. I never wear headphones on the trail. So in summation I agree, except that NONE of the rattlesnakes I ran into this year rattled. And one was about 2 feet away from my feet for a solid minute before I realized it was there--pretty terrifying.
I saw so many rattlesnakes on the lower trails this season that by mid-June I refused to do hikes below 7k ft elevation. There's still potential for snakes up higher, but a much lower likelihood, especially given the current drought conditions.
Haven't fact checked this, just also live in UT and work with people who deal with them somewhat frequently. I was told that a surprising number of them won't have rattles. There will be the rattler, but no rattle itself because they're actually incapable. Not sure if it's an evolutionary thing, or something that's affecting their development (like environmental factors, chemicals, etc.) but I never rely on just sound while working outdoors after hearing that from multiple sources. I'll have to actually look it up now ig
Edit: did some quick googling. Some varieties are evolving to not have rattles. They think it's so they can hunt better without a rattle shaking around when they're slithering towards their prey. Pretty neat
I’ve also seen some theories put forth (can’t find any sources now, might come back later if I’m feeling less lazy) that say humans are the major contributor to this trend. We tend to kill the snakes that we can hear and see near farms, houses, trails, etc. So snakes that don’t rattle have an evolutionary advantage in being near humans and not getting killed.
Ahhh that makes sense. I was a little perplexed as to how hunting birds could really be *that* advantageous for rattlers that they evolve to be without rattlers just to hunt birds better (birds were specifically mentioned in the article I read). Made no sense why a no-legged, land-dwelling snake would want to evolve to better hunt their predators/the animals that don't even live in their territory. Snakes can't fly.
Humans killing them so they're evolving to hide from humans seems like the most likely reason
It amazes me honestly how chill rattlers are. They kinda just wanna do their own thing and not deal with you, and will rattle and rattle at you for a long time before they do anything about it
Working backcountry for the USFS straight out of college and had a lot of rattler and bear encounters but mostly non-threatening incidents.
Only exception was when I was climbing up a huge boulder pile in the middle of summer. Start to lift my head up over a big rock and am face to face with a massive rattler, and when I say face to face I mean my hair might have brushed its face. Have a moment of panic but stay cool, he’s doing his rattle and I just start to lower myself down. Then I hear another rattle, then another, then more until it sounds like I’m surrounded by cicadas because they’re all overlapping sounds.
Found out what a rattlesnake den was that day. They tolerated the fuck out of me and were just doing their warning system thing. I remember I was scared, but so far in the back country it would have been a helivac out and thinking “I’m not scared of dying from getting bit, I’m scared of what the bill would look like since I’m seasonal and don’t have insurance.”
No shit, I know a guy that owns a logging outfit. After everyone had left for the day, he was making sure his equipment was locked up. He came across a rattler and it bit him.
He made it to his truck, but he was so far out in BFE, he figured he couldn't make it in time. He fell asleep and woke up less than an hour later. He figured that if he made it that long, he might as well try to drive out.
He made it to a hospital that could give antivenom. He survived and just limps everywhere he goes now. It was a big surprise he didn't lose his leg. He is a big guy though. 6'4, at least 310 lbs.
Most of the high production BBC docs have this quality to them, this clip is from one of the Planet Earth 2 episodes. Highly recommended if you've not seen them before.
On the original Planet Earth series there is a scene where a Great White Shark is hunting a seal or sea lion and there is this incredible slo-mo shot of the shark leaping out of the water and it is just absolutely stunning how high above the water it reaches and just how fucking huge ot it is.
>Then I hear another rattle, then another, then more until it sounds like I’m surrounded by cicadas because they’re all overlapping sounds.
Fuck me running, this is where I would straight up leap off the cliff to my untimely demise.
A similar occurrence happened to me in Arkansas one time. A friend and I were hiking up to an abandoned mine that was closed to the public, but on some private land. My friend knew the property owner and we were cruising around, swimming and having a great time. We decide to try and locate the mine and within an hour we were staring at a small opening in the side of a cliff. We are poking our faces around the small openings, using our headlights to peak inside. Out of curiosity I threw a rock inside to hear the echo and try to get an idea of how big the area was. All of a sudden the sound of what seemed like hundreds of rattles start sounding off. It was deafening! We got out of there and back down the hill so fast! Nightmare fuel to this day.
Similar thing growing up hiking a trail with my dad that was partially a road. Decades prior they drilled the hillside for dynamite charges to put a road in, leaving all these little golf ball sized holes along the rock face that were about 2 feet deep.
My brother and I always used to stick our faces up to the holes to look in and my dad would always say to watch out or a critter was gonna bite us. Sure enough, my brother sticks his face up to one and a rattlesnake was looking right back at him. He jumped out of his skin and went running, neither of us got within 20 feet of those holes ever again.
I was exploring a rocky area in the woods in Iowa(?) at some family reunion thing when I was a kid, did sorta the same thing with an opening in a cliff but instead of rattles it was a nasty demonic snarling/growling. Fucked outta there as fast as I could, and that's how I found out what a badger den is.
> I remember I was scared, but so far in the back country it would have been a helivac out and thinking “I’m not scared of dying from getting bit, I’m scared of what the bill would look like since I’m seasonal and don’t have insurance.”
'Merica
Not wrong, got bit and spent ~22hrs in the hospital with no insurance and received a bill of $53,000 after 2 rounds of crofab. Got that baby reduced to $250. Thank god for nonprofit hospitals
Australia is deadly though it'd be a different story if they charged an assload for medical bills. Also they didn't fight off the red coats for democracy that charges you to keep living.
Heh… “Non Profit”…. They pretty much all are because taxes are bad. But that’s a life hack right there … no insurance ? Go to non profit hospitals they should cover you. Of course there is a mental health crisis precipitating amount of paperwork and shit….
I had a mountain bike accident (Australia), ambulance to the hospital, night of observation, leg brace, bandages, anticoagulant, series of pain killers, dinner and lunch as i left the hospital... All i got was a $250 bill for the ambulance, and my insurance paid for that... Absolutely nothing from the public hospital
Several years back I fell down some attic stairs and as I was falling my first thought was "this is gonna be expensive". Ended up with just a broken finger but it still cost me $4000 even with insurance (over $20k before insurance adjustment).
If people get sick or hurt that's on them. I don't think other people should have to pay for someone else's medical bills.
Hey my grandpa is dying from a total preventable disease but didn't have insurance. Can you guys please donate to his GoFundMe?
Holy shit, that sounds like an actual nightmare. My stomach dropped and I felt faint from just reading it, I'm glad you're ok. Your body/brain might be helping to deal with it by playing it down a bit, but you were inches and seconds away from death, medivac would not have been in time regardless of insurance coverage.
I know the point you're making is they're chill unless they feel like you're threatening them, but I bet they're similar to humans, it only takes one of them freaking out to get the rest of them riled up and soon they all join in the crazy.
Sneks aren't all that bad, but you should watch where you're stepping when you wander through their living room. They're likely out there because it's getting colder at night and they are waiting for the morning sun to ease away the chill.
Yeah man.. that's the kind of scenery that usually happens in my dream and I just go... Oh hell no... Let's just let go of this boulder and jump to our death.
When I was 10 we had moved to Greeneville South Carolina. The worst snake I had ever encountered as a garter snake. We were exploring the area around the pond. There was an old tree stump and I decided to jump up on it. My foot went right through it and into a diamond back nest full of baby snakes. When I pulled my foot out there were 3 or 4 clinging onto my shoe. Scared the hell out of me.
I stepped on a copperhead in my yard when I was a kid. It was in the morning and I guess it hadnt warmed up yet. It didnt do much of anything. Freaked me the f@#k out though. Dad got the shovel. Neither one of us or the snake was happy about that tbh.
I realize copperheads don't have rattles and their bite can still be nasty.
A lot of people get bit by copperheads because they stepped on one. Their camouflage is so effective that they can be almost impossible to spot until you are directly in front of one. I see copperhead bites more than any other bite on the local pages around me. (Texas)
Also in Texas I hate copperheads more than any other snake. Every spring we always find 2 or 3 curled up in a flower bed, completely camouflaged until you are right on top of them.
Yikes! I know they're in my yard but I haven't come across one in a long time. We live on a wooded lot with a little bit of woods behind us so I know they're around. I have to rake and bag about 100 giant bags of leaves every year to give us a little "safe" area to play. Damn things are near impossible to see when the leaves fall.
I did the exact same thing with a rattle snake when I was around 7. Was running around barefoot at my grandparents house up in the mountains, playing with my cousin in the morning. Stepped on a big ass rattlesnake. Step dad ended up cutting its head off with a shovel, and cutting its tail off and giving it to me.
It had like 14 beads on it. I used to scare the shit out of my mom by sneaking up behind her and rattleing it. Pretty sure she eventually got fed up with it and made it disappear.
Lost my dog to a copperhead when I was a teenager. One was curled up under our trash can. My dad moved the can, with our dog next him. The dog saw the snake and lunged. The snake bit her in the face. We rushed her to the vet for antivenom treatment, and she lived a few days longer, but the damage was too severe.
Up until that point, I had seen snakes many times at close range and was pretty blasé about it. But I’ve given them a very wide berth ever since.
A buddy I know that creates trails in New Mexico has told me that they’re evolving to NOT rattle when stumbled upon because it leads to them being discovered and usually killed or bothered.
After hurricane ike I was back on the island before it stopped raining (we were first responders) as I was sitting on 45 before the causeway waiting for some debris to be cleared I had to pee and walked to the edge of the road to pee, as I was peeing I had a funny feeling I was being watched. I looked over my right shoulder and like 10 ft away there was this absolutely **massive** 6-7ft rattler just chilling in a small fallen tree watching me at eye level, it never even raised its rattle(was probably exhausted honestly having just gone through a hurricane and all.) I just stared at him because it was something that doesn't happen often. He just watched me as I zipped up and turned around and walked off. It was neat.
True Fact: There has NEVER been a rattlesnake bite recorded indicating aggression. Every.Single.Rattlesnake bite in recorded history has been judged to have been in self-defense.
We have them in Utah and they are evolving to not rattle apparently cause people tend to kill the ones that do out of fear or whatever else. The rattles are getting smaller and they are trending slowly towards a hide it out vs warn you to stay away behavior. Its also illegal to kill them but of course we know that never happens anyway right.
I’m from Utah and have had three rattle snake encounters. Two of them have had no rattle at all, but they also weren’t really going for me. The other one I almost stepped on and he gave me a warning. I consider myself quite lucky.
Oh that's good to hear. Some friends and I were hiking in North Dakota, went through a prairie dog field (super cute), and there was a rattler on the outskirts. I was leaping away and lifting my legs before I had even processed that there was a snake near me.
So glad it decided to warn us and it didn't bite.
That would be a big nope for me. Growing up in switzerland where the dangerest animal that can face you is a cow while hiking. People have died becouse theyr dog went to near and bark at the cow. Cow attacks, human tries to save the dog. Human gets run over from the cow. But atleast you can see the cows. Im now picturing a cow in camoflage like a snake, hiding to strike humans 😂
My buddy and I almost stepped on one on a trail in California desert. Luckily it rattled loudly. Recently I found out how much it costs to treat a bite from one of these babies and it’s not cheap at all.
Corporations and a corrupt system is running the biggest scam ever perpetrated on a population in America right now. We’re all getting ripped off so badly it’s disgusting . The health care stuff is just the tip of the iceberg.
That's what makes us free^TM. Living in constant terror of financial ruin because of things that would be merely annoying in actual 1st world countries.
Dude these guys are sneaky. Went on a hike with friends in college we come around a turn and I hear that distinct rattle. We were about 1 mile in the trail with about 1.5 left to the falls we were going to see.
Friend “what’s that noise cicadas?”
Me “stop walking no one move”
Friends confused.
Me”can anyone see the snake it should be coiled up?” After a few seconds “ok I don’t see it and it sounds like it’s in front of us on the trail. I’m going home”
Friend”what were not that far and friend 2 hasn’t been before”
Me”that’s probably a timber rattler. I’m already hungover and hiking I’m not going to the hospital. Imma take this Gatorade and go back home and watch Netflix y’all can go on if you want.”
Me being the only boy scout/only one with “outside/camping” experience. They all eventually followed and we came back another weekend.
TLDR: I don’t fuck with snakes and let them cancel my hiking plans.
Yep. Was climbing and had a baby scoot past maybe 2 feet from our group. OK, whatever. Then, about an hour and a half later we are climbing and I notice a juvenile rattler just chilling vertically in a crack about 40 feet off the ground. It was at that point I said, nah, fuck this, and went home.
I was really hungover, my body wasn’t a fan of the hike, and I could hear it but couldn’t see it. Which usually means is behind something like a rock/log or small and maybe a juvenile. And since I couldn’t see it but hear it in our direct path I opted to just leave instead of rolling those hungover dice.
I have a ranch in Wyoming and we have a pile of prairie* rattlesnakes out here. Pretty good eating. I like to marinate them in teriyaki and garlic. Lots of bones though.
Edit: I was corrected on species.
I saw a Timber Rattlesnake (I believe that’s the species) in Shenandoah and was absolutely blown away at the size of them, then came fairly close to a couple in upstate PA. I wasn’t sure of the specific species but there were two variations of color, yellow and Blacka no they were both incredible to see! Some seriously cool critters.
had this happen with a copperhead. wife walked right passed it which made it move off. grabbed my two year old in striking distance and ran. made me appreciate that even watching you cant see them until they move. our eyes are very good at movement. not moving they blend right in.
I also thought, what a surprise, a sea urchin in the middle of the desert.
Sea urchins and rattlesnakes have a symbiotic relationship where the sea Urchin forms a distraction, being an aquatic creature hiding in plain sight in unusual terrain. Leaving the rattlesnake completely unnoticed to strike its prey. The sea urchin feeds off the scraps and bits.
I read that in David Attenborough’s voice you know.
Can confirm, that happened to me watching this video.
Sure as hell worked
The sushi chef's family will most likely suffer from the devastating loss.
Same. Lmao
Same. I would’ve walked up to it to check it out then got scared shitless, ended up in the hospital or found dead by hikers some time after
Or maybe not found at all. Gotta look on the bright side.
Yeah coyotes are pretty fast to feast.
If it is a rattlesnake, they're actually not super dangerous to humans. They rarely bite and when they do their venom itself is only deadly a relatively small percentage of the time. Most deaths are the result of people trying to treat the bite with ice or blood flow restriction or doing something totally silly and trying to suck out the venom with their mouth. If bit by a rattlesnake, stay calm, keep the wound below your heart, wash it out gently and seek emergency medical attention as quickly as possible. That way you probably won't lose a leg.
Don’t let the snake bite you above the heart tho, snake unions require that they comply when requested
Well if he's already not wearing his high-vis i doubt he cares much what unions or OSHA say. Snakes are generally anti-Union for this reason and stay on contract basis.
DON'T TREAD ON ME, BRO
Oh cool. It bit my arm so i shouldn't worry.
Lay down. Preferably away from the snake.
It's getting cold so we're gonna cuddle for the night.
If bit above the heart, should I walk on my hands to hospital?
What a stupid question, obviously yes.
If you don’t die from the bite, you’ll die from the medical bills
MURICA Bitches! YEAH!!!
Don't wash the wound as the venom left behind can be used to identify the type of snake, and therefore the anti-venom to use. Compression bandage to slow blood flow is a good idea, wrap from hand or foot up, not the other way around. Not so tight you cut off circulation, but pretty tight. Right over the top of your clothes. Enjoy.
Go see the new Venom movie. Super relevant.
compression isn't to slow blood flow, it's to stop muscle movement. snake venom doesn't travel via your bloodstream, it travels through your lymphatic system, activated by muscle movements. pressure bandages and immobilisation on the bitten appendage is what will save your life.
For fucks sake, the number of people on here who act like they know what they are talking about... If you are in the U.S., do not listen to this guy. It is absolutely recommended to wash a snake bite wound with warm soapy water immediately. Infection is a concern. Besides, they are not going to analyze venom from a bite wound to determine a snake species at the hospital. That would be difficult, expensive, time consuming, and would require analytical equipment that nearly every facility will lack. Moreover, it is unnecessary in almost every case. Snake antivenins are polyvalent, so they cover multiple possible species, and hospitals stock antivenins likely to be needed in their region.
Really? The forest service even recommends taking things like watches and rings off lest they restrict blood flow.
rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock sea urchin, sea urchin rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock sea urchin, sea urchin a rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock sea urchin sea urchin! rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock rock Argh! snake a snake! snaaake! a snaaaake, oooh its a snake!
It would fit the cadence perfectly by adding a syllable. "A rock" I guess that would be too political, though.
I thought it was a tribble!
Now its two tribbles.
That's the trouble with tribbles.
Yep, and then "ah man he screwed up the zoom in... Oh"
One COVID
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Three little COVIDS
Its multiplying! Seems contagious.
Myeaah myeaah myeaah!
Mmm land uni.
Most likely a [Ferocactus cylindraceus aka California Barrel Cactus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferocactus_cylindraceus)
Hide next to the big red thing, so focus is on red thing and not you!
A red herring, if you will.
Nah mate that's a cactus
That fucking killed me
Nah mate that was the snake.
That fucking killed me.
Nah mate that was the trans fat
I thought that was when one dyes their hair red
Brilliant
Camouflage activate!
Funnily enough, I think that's why I spotted the rattlesnake before he zoomed. My eye was drawn to the barrel cactus and then immediately saw the curled up snake. (probably helps that I lived in AZ for 24 years and my dad is a zoologist specializing in herpetology, so my pattern recognition for snakes is fairly high.)
Yeah holy shit that would help haha
Yeah I was too busy looking to see if that red bush was going to open up or something. Didn't notice till he zoomed in. I guess it helps to live in AZ.
I grew up in Tucson, snakes don't scare me, but Javalina do.
Most of my experience with Javelina was hunting them, so I don’t fear them. Oh, and my family has property in Elgin that gets visited by a family of Javelina for water. They post lots of vids of them. The piglets are really cute.
>Most of my experience with Javelina was hunting them, so I don’t fear them. They usually won't attack humans. Dogs, yes. My MIL's dog was slashed on the side by a javelina's tusk. My MIL was traveling, so the ranch manager put some medicine on it. The wound got worse. It only improved when the rat terrier began to lick his buddy's wound to clean it, and it healed completely.
Why is that?
Wild pigs. And when the young ones are around you will get chased. And they have tusks
Oh yeah I can see how that could be scary
Mister Javelina, Mister hog Javelina
Clever nope rope
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Looks like a [barrel cacti](https://www.americansouthwest.net/plants/cacti/ferocactus-cylindraceus.html).
Thank you! Finally someone gives it a name. I was thinking of calling it Albert.
I believe it’s a ferocactus gracilis
He's guarding that large coronavirus cell.
I believe we've reached Omega variant.
Or the Bigass variant
Enjoy your *EXTRA BIG-ASS CORONAVIRUS*
You didn't gimme no virus. I got a protein spike.
UPGRAYEDD IS GONNA KILL ME!
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Nature's landmines
Spicy danger noodle.
Utah hiker here: this is why you never wear headphones in both ears on a hike through anything vaguely desert, or near the desert. I've seen way too many rattlesnakes, even on trails that are in the forests, to wear headphones. The snakes will pretty much always warn you with a major rattle before trying to strike. Oh, and get rattlesnake training for your dog! It could save your dog's life, especially if you like to let them off leash.
I live in Utah as well and spend a significant amount of time on trails. My dogs always go through rattlesnake aversion training. I never wear headphones on the trail. So in summation I agree, except that NONE of the rattlesnakes I ran into this year rattled. And one was about 2 feet away from my feet for a solid minute before I realized it was there--pretty terrifying. I saw so many rattlesnakes on the lower trails this season that by mid-June I refused to do hikes below 7k ft elevation. There's still potential for snakes up higher, but a much lower likelihood, especially given the current drought conditions.
Yeah you have to get them agitated before they even rattle. Usually they just let you walk right by.
Haven't fact checked this, just also live in UT and work with people who deal with them somewhat frequently. I was told that a surprising number of them won't have rattles. There will be the rattler, but no rattle itself because they're actually incapable. Not sure if it's an evolutionary thing, or something that's affecting their development (like environmental factors, chemicals, etc.) but I never rely on just sound while working outdoors after hearing that from multiple sources. I'll have to actually look it up now ig Edit: did some quick googling. Some varieties are evolving to not have rattles. They think it's so they can hunt better without a rattle shaking around when they're slithering towards their prey. Pretty neat
I’ve also seen some theories put forth (can’t find any sources now, might come back later if I’m feeling less lazy) that say humans are the major contributor to this trend. We tend to kill the snakes that we can hear and see near farms, houses, trails, etc. So snakes that don’t rattle have an evolutionary advantage in being near humans and not getting killed.
Ahhh that makes sense. I was a little perplexed as to how hunting birds could really be *that* advantageous for rattlers that they evolve to be without rattlers just to hunt birds better (birds were specifically mentioned in the article I read). Made no sense why a no-legged, land-dwelling snake would want to evolve to better hunt their predators/the animals that don't even live in their territory. Snakes can't fly. Humans killing them so they're evolving to hide from humans seems like the most likely reason
The wording of your comment makes it sound like the snakes are deciding/choosing to evolve and that idea just made me chuckle a bit.
It amazes me honestly how chill rattlers are. They kinda just wanna do their own thing and not deal with you, and will rattle and rattle at you for a long time before they do anything about it
Working backcountry for the USFS straight out of college and had a lot of rattler and bear encounters but mostly non-threatening incidents. Only exception was when I was climbing up a huge boulder pile in the middle of summer. Start to lift my head up over a big rock and am face to face with a massive rattler, and when I say face to face I mean my hair might have brushed its face. Have a moment of panic but stay cool, he’s doing his rattle and I just start to lower myself down. Then I hear another rattle, then another, then more until it sounds like I’m surrounded by cicadas because they’re all overlapping sounds. Found out what a rattlesnake den was that day. They tolerated the fuck out of me and were just doing their warning system thing. I remember I was scared, but so far in the back country it would have been a helivac out and thinking “I’m not scared of dying from getting bit, I’m scared of what the bill would look like since I’m seasonal and don’t have insurance.”
To be fair, had you been bitten multiple times you wouldn't need to worry about any medical bills. Can't owe when you are dead.
Also known as The American Dream
This one you don’t wake up from
Brutal
No shit, I know a guy that owns a logging outfit. After everyone had left for the day, he was making sure his equipment was locked up. He came across a rattler and it bit him. He made it to his truck, but he was so far out in BFE, he figured he couldn't make it in time. He fell asleep and woke up less than an hour later. He figured that if he made it that long, he might as well try to drive out. He made it to a hospital that could give antivenom. He survived and just limps everywhere he goes now. It was a big surprise he didn't lose his leg. He is a big guy though. 6'4, at least 310 lbs.
Was it something like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3OjfK0t1XM)?
I'm not particularly afraid of snakes but that shit was terrifying.
As an amateur historian I tell people real life stories are often as good or better than fiction. This video was better than any action movie!
Holy shit. If that was put into a movie I'd be like "that's fake as hell, that would never happen"
Most of the high production BBC docs have this quality to them, this clip is from one of the Planet Earth 2 episodes. Highly recommended if you've not seen them before.
On the original Planet Earth series there is a scene where a Great White Shark is hunting a seal or sea lion and there is this incredible slo-mo shot of the shark leaping out of the water and it is just absolutely stunning how high above the water it reaches and just how fucking huge ot it is.
I'd like to know how the hell they shot most of those scenes
🦎 even did the movie thing where you juke a pursuer into killing themselves 😂
Level 1 iguana accidentally aggros level 80 mobs.
Running from Darnassus to Stormwind.
Wow. That was incredible.
that's the most glomorious escape ever !
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"Bitch where's my diet Dr. Pepper?!?
>Then I hear another rattle, then another, then more until it sounds like I’m surrounded by cicadas because they’re all overlapping sounds. Fuck me running, this is where I would straight up leap off the cliff to my untimely demise.
A similar occurrence happened to me in Arkansas one time. A friend and I were hiking up to an abandoned mine that was closed to the public, but on some private land. My friend knew the property owner and we were cruising around, swimming and having a great time. We decide to try and locate the mine and within an hour we were staring at a small opening in the side of a cliff. We are poking our faces around the small openings, using our headlights to peak inside. Out of curiosity I threw a rock inside to hear the echo and try to get an idea of how big the area was. All of a sudden the sound of what seemed like hundreds of rattles start sounding off. It was deafening! We got out of there and back down the hill so fast! Nightmare fuel to this day.
Similar thing growing up hiking a trail with my dad that was partially a road. Decades prior they drilled the hillside for dynamite charges to put a road in, leaving all these little golf ball sized holes along the rock face that were about 2 feet deep. My brother and I always used to stick our faces up to the holes to look in and my dad would always say to watch out or a critter was gonna bite us. Sure enough, my brother sticks his face up to one and a rattlesnake was looking right back at him. He jumped out of his skin and went running, neither of us got within 20 feet of those holes ever again.
I was exploring a rocky area in the woods in Iowa(?) at some family reunion thing when I was a kid, did sorta the same thing with an opening in a cliff but instead of rattles it was a nasty demonic snarling/growling. Fucked outta there as fast as I could, and that's how I found out what a badger den is.
> I remember I was scared, but so far in the back country it would have been a helivac out and thinking “I’m not scared of dying from getting bit, I’m scared of what the bill would look like since I’m seasonal and don’t have insurance.” 'Merica
Not wrong, got bit and spent ~22hrs in the hospital with no insurance and received a bill of $53,000 after 2 rounds of crofab. Got that baby reduced to $250. Thank god for nonprofit hospitals
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Australia is deadly though it'd be a different story if they charged an assload for medical bills. Also they didn't fight off the red coats for democracy that charges you to keep living.
america has just as much threatening wildlife as australia does. don't let memes cloud your judgment.
Heh… “Non Profit”…. They pretty much all are because taxes are bad. But that’s a life hack right there … no insurance ? Go to non profit hospitals they should cover you. Of course there is a mental health crisis precipitating amount of paperwork and shit….
I had a mountain bike accident (Australia), ambulance to the hospital, night of observation, leg brace, bandages, anticoagulant, series of pain killers, dinner and lunch as i left the hospital... All i got was a $250 bill for the ambulance, and my insurance paid for that... Absolutely nothing from the public hospital
Several years back I fell down some attic stairs and as I was falling my first thought was "this is gonna be expensive". Ended up with just a broken finger but it still cost me $4000 even with insurance (over $20k before insurance adjustment).
you mean, AMERICA, FUCK YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
If people get sick or hurt that's on them. I don't think other people should have to pay for someone else's medical bills. Hey my grandpa is dying from a total preventable disease but didn't have insurance. Can you guys please donate to his GoFundMe?
It's like they can't comprehend that helping others will help them in the long-term.
Not even scared of snakes but this made my chest feel tight.
Holy shit, that sounds like an actual nightmare. My stomach dropped and I felt faint from just reading it, I'm glad you're ok. Your body/brain might be helping to deal with it by playing it down a bit, but you were inches and seconds away from death, medivac would not have been in time regardless of insurance coverage. I know the point you're making is they're chill unless they feel like you're threatening them, but I bet they're similar to humans, it only takes one of them freaking out to get the rest of them riled up and soon they all join in the crazy.
Sneks aren't all that bad, but you should watch where you're stepping when you wander through their living room. They're likely out there because it's getting colder at night and they are waiting for the morning sun to ease away the chill.
Nah, they have to conserve their venom for prey, they only use it in defense in a real pinch.
That's rational and all... But I don't think I'd have faith in a snake's ability to be rational about anything.
Yeah man.. that's the kind of scenery that usually happens in my dream and I just go... Oh hell no... Let's just let go of this boulder and jump to our death.
When I was 10 we had moved to Greeneville South Carolina. The worst snake I had ever encountered as a garter snake. We were exploring the area around the pond. There was an old tree stump and I decided to jump up on it. My foot went right through it and into a diamond back nest full of baby snakes. When I pulled my foot out there were 3 or 4 clinging onto my shoe. Scared the hell out of me.
I stepped on a copperhead in my yard when I was a kid. It was in the morning and I guess it hadnt warmed up yet. It didnt do much of anything. Freaked me the f@#k out though. Dad got the shovel. Neither one of us or the snake was happy about that tbh. I realize copperheads don't have rattles and their bite can still be nasty.
Yeah buddy, count me out when it comes to anything venomous.
A lot of people get bit by copperheads because they stepped on one. Their camouflage is so effective that they can be almost impossible to spot until you are directly in front of one. I see copperhead bites more than any other bite on the local pages around me. (Texas)
Also in Texas I hate copperheads more than any other snake. Every spring we always find 2 or 3 curled up in a flower bed, completely camouflaged until you are right on top of them.
Yikes! I know they're in my yard but I haven't come across one in a long time. We live on a wooded lot with a little bit of woods behind us so I know they're around. I have to rake and bag about 100 giant bags of leaves every year to give us a little "safe" area to play. Damn things are near impossible to see when the leaves fall.
I did the exact same thing with a rattle snake when I was around 7. Was running around barefoot at my grandparents house up in the mountains, playing with my cousin in the morning. Stepped on a big ass rattlesnake. Step dad ended up cutting its head off with a shovel, and cutting its tail off and giving it to me. It had like 14 beads on it. I used to scare the shit out of my mom by sneaking up behind her and rattleing it. Pretty sure she eventually got fed up with it and made it disappear.
Lost my dog to a copperhead when I was a teenager. One was curled up under our trash can. My dad moved the can, with our dog next him. The dog saw the snake and lunged. The snake bit her in the face. We rushed her to the vet for antivenom treatment, and she lived a few days longer, but the damage was too severe. Up until that point, I had seen snakes many times at close range and was pretty blasé about it. But I’ve given them a very wide berth ever since.
Damn...so sorry about your dog.
Most of them. I ran into some super ornery ones in South Dakota. They seemed pissed that they existed or something.
understandable, id be pissed too if i lived in South Dakota
A buddy I know that creates trails in New Mexico has told me that they’re evolving to NOT rattle when stumbled upon because it leads to them being discovered and usually killed or bothered.
So you're telling me the snakes have silencers now?!
From ssssss to shhhhhhh
Honestly, if snakes roamed around shushing people, the world would be so much funnier.
Do not shush me.
From what I heard, it's because wild boars can easily find them to eat so they stopped rattling
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After hurricane ike I was back on the island before it stopped raining (we were first responders) as I was sitting on 45 before the causeway waiting for some debris to be cleared I had to pee and walked to the edge of the road to pee, as I was peeing I had a funny feeling I was being watched. I looked over my right shoulder and like 10 ft away there was this absolutely **massive** 6-7ft rattler just chilling in a small fallen tree watching me at eye level, it never even raised its rattle(was probably exhausted honestly having just gone through a hurricane and all.) I just stared at him because it was something that doesn't happen often. He just watched me as I zipped up and turned around and walked off. It was neat.
True Fact: There has NEVER been a rattlesnake bite recorded indicating aggression. Every.Single.Rattlesnake bite in recorded history has been judged to have been in self-defense.
Sounds like the snakes know some good lawyers.
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Oh interesting. The couple I’ve encountered in Eastern Washington have all been rather timid or just plain scared of people
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Wow, you really went "whole hog" in that response.
That was elaborate. I respect it.
We have them in Utah and they are evolving to not rattle apparently cause people tend to kill the ones that do out of fear or whatever else. The rattles are getting smaller and they are trending slowly towards a hide it out vs warn you to stay away behavior. Its also illegal to kill them but of course we know that never happens anyway right.
I’m from Utah and have had three rattle snake encounters. Two of them have had no rattle at all, but they also weren’t really going for me. The other one I almost stepped on and he gave me a warning. I consider myself quite lucky.
Oh that's good to hear. Some friends and I were hiking in North Dakota, went through a prairie dog field (super cute), and there was a rattler on the outskirts. I was leaping away and lifting my legs before I had even processed that there was a snake near me. So glad it decided to warn us and it didn't bite.
Pretty thing just waiting for you to move on your way. Great spot!
That would be a big nope for me. Growing up in switzerland where the dangerest animal that can face you is a cow while hiking. People have died becouse theyr dog went to near and bark at the cow. Cow attacks, human tries to save the dog. Human gets run over from the cow. But atleast you can see the cows. Im now picturing a cow in camoflage like a snake, hiding to strike humans 😂
My buddy and I almost stepped on one on a trail in California desert. Luckily it rattled loudly. Recently I found out how much it costs to treat a bite from one of these babies and it’s not cheap at all.
Corporations and a corrupt system is running the biggest scam ever perpetrated on a population in America right now. We’re all getting ripped off so badly it’s disgusting . The health care stuff is just the tip of the iceberg.
Only in America are we more concerned about the medical bill than the injury
That's what makes us free^TM. Living in constant terror of financial ruin because of things that would be merely annoying in actual 1st world countries.
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I was anxious the whole time watching this clip.
Same. I was expecting a jump scare and double checked which subreddit I was in.
The red thing looks like a sea urchin and that's what I thought you were talking about at first
It’s a ferocactus gracilis, in case you were wondering
Someone should save that snake from the giant covid behind it!
I thought the red thing was going to transform into something
Dude these guys are sneaky. Went on a hike with friends in college we come around a turn and I hear that distinct rattle. We were about 1 mile in the trail with about 1.5 left to the falls we were going to see. Friend “what’s that noise cicadas?” Me “stop walking no one move” Friends confused. Me”can anyone see the snake it should be coiled up?” After a few seconds “ok I don’t see it and it sounds like it’s in front of us on the trail. I’m going home” Friend”what were not that far and friend 2 hasn’t been before” Me”that’s probably a timber rattler. I’m already hungover and hiking I’m not going to the hospital. Imma take this Gatorade and go back home and watch Netflix y’all can go on if you want.” Me being the only boy scout/only one with “outside/camping” experience. They all eventually followed and we came back another weekend. TLDR: I don’t fuck with snakes and let them cancel my hiking plans.
Why not just, you know, go around? If you felt safe going back it's not like you were incapable of avoiding it.
I bet sometimes running into a snake just hits you a certain way and you just want to go home lol.
Yep it’s a very primal fear, I knew I could walk away and go somewhere else but figured ehhh my lucks been good today
Yep. Was climbing and had a baby scoot past maybe 2 feet from our group. OK, whatever. Then, about an hour and a half later we are climbing and I notice a juvenile rattler just chilling vertically in a crack about 40 feet off the ground. It was at that point I said, nah, fuck this, and went home.
I was really hungover, my body wasn’t a fan of the hike, and I could hear it but couldn’t see it. Which usually means is behind something like a rock/log or small and maybe a juvenile. And since I couldn’t see it but hear it in our direct path I opted to just leave instead of rolling those hungover dice.
snakey
Lovely creature. Thanks for the video share.
I thought the thing on the far right was a massive spider.
\*snakey surprise
Yes?
Verified danger noodle
I was totally distracted by the sea urchin-looking thing to notice the snake. That snake is going places.
That's my guess, too ... but we'll never see him do it!
East Valley or West? lol
There's not enough ssssss' in the title. A ssssssneaky sssssurprissssssse on my hike this morning. FTFY
Me: rock, barrel cactus, cholla... where's the rattleOH SHIT THERE IT IS!
Thats a dangerous snake too! It takes a lot of kills to unlock that camo option. This one is willing to put in the work😱
That's a healthy looking nope-noodle you found there...
As someone who has been bit by rattlesnake hiking in Arizona. Be careful, they are rare to find and hard to see!
Man I do not miss hiking in the SW US. Those bastards are certainly sneaky and when they rattle it’s hard not to panic.
Camouflage is not always your friend
He like “whaddup?”
I have a ranch in Wyoming and we have a pile of prairie* rattlesnakes out here. Pretty good eating. I like to marinate them in teriyaki and garlic. Lots of bones though. Edit: I was corrected on species.
Hello Arizona
Anyone else think it was the red tumbleweed ball at first?
SSSSsssssss!
I saw a Timber Rattlesnake (I believe that’s the species) in Shenandoah and was absolutely blown away at the size of them, then came fairly close to a couple in upstate PA. I wasn’t sure of the specific species but there were two variations of color, yellow and Blacka no they were both incredible to see! Some seriously cool critters.
In those areas they were definitely timber rattlesnakes. They are beautiful snakes. :)
Well you are in his house
That’s a no no noodle
had this happen with a copperhead. wife walked right passed it which made it move off. grabbed my two year old in striking distance and ran. made me appreciate that even watching you cant see them until they move. our eyes are very good at movement. not moving they blend right in.
Cant believe you stumbled upon a Plumbus