Massachusetts plans venomous rattlesnake colony on island

[Little Tich]

Source: CBS / AP

BOSTON -- A plan by the state to establish a colony of venomous timber rattlesnakes on an off-limits island in Massachusetts' largest body of water has some rattled by visions of dangerous serpents slithering through the surrounding woods, attacking hikers, fishermen and hunters.

Those are completely irrational fears based on the public's aversion to snakes, said Tom French of the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, who's directing the project at the 39-square mile Quabbin Reservoir and representing the state at a public meeting Tuesday to address the concerns.

French said he's received several emails and phone calls from worried residents who fear the snakes will escape the island.

"People are afraid that we're going to put snakes in a place of public use and that they are going to breed like rabbits and spread over the countryside and kill everybody," he said.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/massachusetts-plans-venomous-rattlesnake-colony-on-island/

[merrily]

1. Reservoir? What could possibly go wrong?

[Nitram]

19. Actually, it is very unlikely that anything would "go wrong."

Rattlesnakes are shy and largely nocturnal, so they usually aren't even out and about when we are. They avoid confrontation when they can. Where we live in in the Virginia Piedmont, research has shown there are rattlesnakes virtually everywhere in the woods, but I've never seen one. I've spent hundreds of hours walking streams in the woods as part of my job mapping watersheds.

[womanofthehills]

24. On my land in NM, I usually see 2 or 3 every yr

I was bitten a yr and a half ago by a 3 1/2 ft diamondback rattler in the morning. The rattler was getting the warmth of the sun. He was partly under my shed and the rest of him was hidden by a huge flowerpot that had fallen over. When I bent to straighten the flowerpot, he bit me 2 times on the ankle. My dog was by my side the whole time; he usually sees the snakes first - but not this time.

Being I live so far out in the country, the ambulance took me to a waiting helicopter and I was flown to Albuquerque where I got 16 vials of antivenin. Still have residual problems in my leg.

I thought I was going to die - very scary!

My neighbors were just talking yesterday - wondering if the rattles were out and one saw one already this week. It's cowboy boots and rattlesnake gaiters for me now.

[Nitram]

34. Both my parents have been bit by copperheads on their place in the Blue Ridge mountains.

Dad reached into the woodpile under a tarp where he couldn't see, and Mom went out after dark without a flashlight to get something from the barn. I've seen one where we live, but only a few times. Never seen a rattlesnake, but they are supposed to be all around us.

[elljay]

37. Curious

I'd be interested in hearing whether you approve of the proposal to establish a rattlesnake colony, based on your parents' experiences.

I didn't know that we had rattlesnakes in my area (Silicon Valley, in the hills) until I saw one a few blocks from my home, sunning itself in the middle of the street. I did a double-take and drove back to confirm what I thought I saw. I chose to live up here in a canyon, so I've accepted the risk that I could have an unfortunate animal encounter (we have lots of Black Widows, and I removed a tarantula from my garage a couple of months ago. Then, there are the weekly mountain lion alerts.....)

[LanternWaste]

39. Do tell... and please, be creative as possible in your account.

Do tell... and please, be creative as possible in your account.

[bigwillq]

2. Snakes on a mothereffin island!

[area51]

17. DUzy! n/t

[William Seger]

3. Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs...

... is a heavily used park that has two rattlesnake dens (in undisclosed locations, for their safety), but there's very little contact and bites are pretty rare. They avoid people.

[vinny9698]

6. Working in the oilfied as a pipe line inspector in the Eastern NM desert:

I hardly seen any snakes. They feel vibrations and any strong vibrations they will turn and avoid you. So when you walk do not sneak around unless you want to sneak up on one, bad idea. They are very quick and their venom is very poisonous. A father was killed by a snake bite through the man's boot. His son tried on the boots and also died because the snakes fangs had broken off in the boot and protruded through the interior of the boot. Not seen from the exterior.
I worked over 5 years in those deserts far from any town. I saw two the hold time and both times they were running away as we pulled up with our work truck.

[womanofthehills]

26. Children and small women don't have as strong a vibration

when walking. Also, when hiking in rattlesnake country, don't sit on the rocks - that is where a lot of people are bitten especially children.

[LiberalElite]

4. So there is a place to stick the Republicans after all !

[Kaleva]

5. This could serve as the plot for another Samuel L. Jackson movie.

[Agony]

7. What could possible go wrong. Everybody knows rattlesnakes can't swim.

[A Little Weird]

8. It doesn't really explain why they want to establish a colony

Although timber rattlesnakes are rare Massachusetts, they are pretty common throughout much of their range. I'm not opposed to the effort, I'm just surprised they are using conservation funds for a species that seems pretty secure.

[Feeling the Bern]

9. Idiots. Rattlesnakes would rather run than strike. And most bites are dry bites

as they would rather use their venom to hunt. But I know that animal science is dead in the modern world.

"People are afraid that we're going to put snakes in a place of public use and that they are going to breed like rabbits and spread over the countryside and kill everybody."

I say the same thing about gun owners. I am afraid that we're going to put gun owners in a place of public use and that they are going to breed like rabbits and spread over the countryside and kill everybody by shooting them for whatever dumbass reason they have.

[ManiacJoe]

10. Didn't realize rattlers were that far north on the East Coast.

And I grew up in Maine....

[Odin2005]

13. Here in the Midwest they get as far north as SE Minnesota.

[jtuck004]

11. hssssssssssssss...make america great again...hsssssssssssssssssssssss..

friggin' things are everywhere.

Anyway, fear of snakes is unique, in that it's one of those things that we don't have to experience first to react to.


"
...
Damon's reaction may be unusual, but his fear isn't. A new study suggests that all humans have a "genetic phobia" of snakes, due partly to a long evolutionary history in which pythons preyed on people.

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study draws its conclusions from the Agta Negritos, a tribe of hunter-gatherers in the Philippines. Their complex rivalry with local pythons may offer a window into ancient human-snake relations, according to study author Thomas Headland, an anthropologist at Southern Methodist University. Headland spent 24 years with the Agta, and now uses his insight to reveal the intertwined history of people and snakes.
...
"
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/study-fear-of-snakes-may-be-genetic


And -

These memories are perhaps kept in the amygdala, for immediate access, as opposed to memories we have the luxury to analyze: http://discovermagazine.com/2003/mar/cover

[FailureToCommunicate]

12. I'm sorry but Tom French is an idiot. He says he's recieved "several" messages of worried residents

?!? More like hundreds. And not just from uninformed fear mongers. Actual naturalists that know a thing or two about snakes and habitats. Sure, release the snakes, and let's see what happens.
Who have you been listening to Tom? Tom Riddle?

[Renew Deal]

14. That's going to bite them in the mass

[Codeine]

20. *golf clap*

[farleftlib]

23. *giggle*

[valerief]

15. I read the article and I still don't understand why that fuckhead GOP suckass governor wants

to breed fuckin' killer snakes. Does anyone understand this?

[The Second Stone]

16. Free public land to his closest relatives

I thought that was obvious.

[valerief]

33. DUzy!!!!

[happyslug]

28. The Governor wants to look like he restoring wildlife, without getting anyone mad at him for doing

Thus the island in a middle of a lake, an island no one goes to AND is public property.

Please note this rattlesnake is NATIVE to the area and has been protected for decades. Snakes do not spread out that quickly so the efforts so far to expand they range has been limited (you can only crawl during the summer months, remember we are talking about cold blooded snakes, living in a temperate climate).

Also remember this snake has NOT killed anyone in centuries, yes it is a rattlesnake and can KILL, but it rarely does so, its first choice is to hide. Rattlesnakes are also known to be able to control the amount of venom then can inject. In what they see as food, they amount is quite high, they want the food to die quickly. In something to large for them to eat, the amount of venom is substantially less, just to make the "attack" sick so they learn NOT to attack rattlesnakes (This is also why the rattlesnake has a "Rattle" in its tail, to tell other animals to stay away.

There are only two venomous snakes in Massachusetts - the timber rattlesnake and the copperhead. (Contrary to popular belief, there are no venomous "water moccasins" in the Bay State, only harmless water snakes.) Statewide, populations of our two endangered venomous snakes are believed to number no more than a few hundred individuals. Due to a host of problems, these populations are probably still declining despite rigorous efforts to protect them. Our "rattlers" are now known to exist at only a dozen or so widely scattered sites in mountainous regions of the state; the distribution of copperheads is even more restricted. As a result, most of Massachusetts is completely devoid of venomous serpents.

The chance of receiving a venomous snake bite is further reduced by the fact that both species are shy and reclusive. Like all snakes, they will bite people only in self defense. If you do not willfully seek out and attempt to confront these species, the chances of being bitten by either are negligible. The toxicity of their venoms tends to be highly overrated; only one person has ever died of snakebite in Massachusetts, and that was more than 200 years ago.

Always keep in mind that many harmless snakes resemble venomous snakes in pattern and behavior. Milk snakes, water snakes, hognose snakes and other banded or blotched species are frequently mistaken for copperheads. Milk snakes, black racers and black rat snakes are often misidentified as rattlesnakes because they vibrate their tails rapidly when alarmed. The overwhelming majority of reports of encounters with poisonous snakes in New England are nothing more than cases of mistaken identity.

http://www.masnakes.org/facts/

In 2015 Pennsylvanian, which has a much larger population of Rattlesnakes then Massachusetts had its first death from a Rattlesnake in 25 years:

http://patch.com/pennsylvania/newtown-pa/horror-campfire-pennsylvania-rattlesnake-claims-first-victim-decades

In 2015, along the Montour Bike trail outside of Pittsburgh PA, a dog were reported bitten by a Copperhead Snake (the dog survived the bite, and it is possible other dogs were bitten but never became sick enough for people to take them to a vet):

http://www.wtae.com/news/dog-recovering-after-being-bitten-by-copperhead/34411332

[womanofthehills]

31. You can bet some crazy guy will go there

and bring back a lot of pet rattlers.

[Gormy Cuss]

41. Because the snakes are endangered?

Quabbin's remote compared to some of the existing colonies. Perfect place for it.

[Ptah]

18. Where will they put the non-venomous rattlesnakes?

[happyslug]

22. 80% of all snakes are non-venomous

The "Vipers" are NOT that successful compared to the "Constrictors". The main reason for the difference is vipers must bite they prey and then follow it till it dies, not always a successful option. Constrictors have their prey in they month and body while they constrict it to death, thus they do not lose the body unless it breaks free (Which rarely happens, given the snake decides what to bite).

[Ptah]

25. Which rattlesnakes are not venomous?

[happyslug]

29. None, but 80% of all snakes are Constrictors not vipers.

n/t

[Ptah]

36. The point I am trying to make is that the headline is redundant.

venomous rattlesnake is redundant.

[womanofthehills]

30. All rattlesnakes are venomous

Some more than others - they are pit vipers.

[One_Life_To_Give]

21. Grew Up not 2 miles from a huge den in CT

Worked the Tobacco fields all around the area, not a stones throw from their winter den.
We never knew they were there. Nobody in CT had been bitten in decades. Personnaly I was more concerned about Copperheads coming up from Middletown way than any Rattlers of the Northern Variety.
It was kept quiet when the construction workers dug into a huge den. They didn't want to scare the public. But the Paramedics stocked an antivenom just incase. Although I don't believe they ever had a need for it.

As long as they are still more terrified of me than I am of them we seem to get along just fine. And that courtesy warning seems like a real good thing to me. Although I have never experienced hearing it in the wild.

[womanofthehills]

27. In NM, most of the rattlesnake bites

are because some people keep them as pets. When I was at the hospital receiving antivenin, the docs said their antivenin often went to the same people over and over.

A guy in our town was showing one of his pet rattlers to the local policeman when his snake bit him - he was helicoptered out too.

[happyslug]

32. The Pennsylvania Fish Commission makes the same report

In Pennsylvania, the Fish Commission Jurisdiction extends over all cold blooded creatures including frogs, toads, Salamanders and Snakes in addition to Fish. The Fish and boat Commission (That is its official name) is independent of the Game Commission, unlike most other states where they are one and the same organization.

“Venomous snake bites rarely occur to people,” said Christopher A. Urban, a Nongame & Endangered Species Coordinator with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. “In a typical year, the Pennsylvania Fish and Commission becomes aware of no more than two or three bites from non-captive, venomous snakes in Pennsylvania. Most years there are no reports.”

http://patch.com/pennsylvania/newtown-pa/horror-campfire-pennsylvania-rattlesnake-claims-first-victim-decades

Pennsylvania Game Commission:

http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/pgc/9106

Game Commission Bald Eagle Cam:

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=1592549&mode=2

Pennsylvanian Fish and Boat Commission:

http://fishandboat.com/

Amphibians and Reptiles Fish Commission page:

http://fishandboat.com/amp_rep.htm

Timber Rattlesnakes:

http://fishandboat.com/anglerboater/2007/03mayjune/reg6timber.pdf

[William Seger]

40. I just learned that they're in virtually all large parks and open spaces

... in Colorado Springs, not just Garden of the Gods that I mentioned above, but Ute Valley Park, Cheyenne Mountain, Bear Creek, Red Rock Canyon, Pulpit Rock, Palmer Park... I've lived here 23 years and didn't know they were that widespread, and many of those places are completely surrounded by development. Yet apparently there hasn't been a death reported from a bite in many decades.

[world wide wally]

35. It is NEVER wise to introduce an invasive species of anything

[NickB79]

38. Rattlesnakes are not invasive; they are native to the area

It's just that they've been eradicated by human activity in many areas of the eastern US. This would be a reintroduction to restore a lost population.

[Bayard]

42. I've dealt with more rattlesnakes than I ever cared to

I had a small farm in central CA before I moved back to KY. The only time it was green was in the winter rains, with lots of large granite outcroppings. and plenty of gophers. The only rattlers I had a problem with were the ones that came to the house or barn. I always tried to relocate them by picking up with a rake, putting them in a bucket with a lid, and relocating to the backside of my 40 acres.

Only had to kill two......... One insisted it was going to nail one of my barn cats that was blind. The other one had bitten one of my miniature doxies, who had died the night before in the emergency clinic. It had apparently eaten something like a big rat since, gotten part way thru the fence until it hit that lump on its body, then couldn't back back out. Huge. 5' at least. The vet, who happened to be there at the time, and my ex-husband, dispatched him. After that, I started getting my dogs anti-venom shots.

Small rattlers are much more dangerous than large ones though, because they haven't learned to control the amount of venom they inject.

[mainer]

43. They are native and endangered. It's like re-introducing wolves.

I'd be all for it.

But then, I grew up in California and always encountered rattlesnakes in my yard. No big deal.