Pair of Timber Rattlers

[Teegate]

. To be honest, I'm glad they're there... keeps honest researchers honest.

Thanks for the honest answer.

Guy

 

[jhint22]

So what your saying is that snakes are smarter then often given credit for and can learn from bad experiences.I think personally that some species are smarter then others.garter snakes and pine snakeslearn very quickly that I am unfased if they bite me and usually only do so once and then calm right down.On the other hand black racers and water snakes are very dense and will bite repeatedly.Perhpas I am as dense as they are by not being phased by this.many snakes will not bite at all if approached slowly and not grasped too near the head.I have never attempted the biting experiment on rattlers and have no desire too other then that I have found three out of four very non aggressive excepting the one i ran over before capturing.I did not hit him but it still must have been tramatic and he was quite nasty about it.
Al

Yeah… basically that’s the punch line. Most attacks by predators fail and those attempts cause behavioral changes in the prey similar to a mugging causes a behavioral change a victim. It’s been studied in everything from spiders attacking grasshoppers to wolves attacking ungulates. Studies consistently show that those behavioral changes have negative effects on the prey despite not being killed. Prey will remain vigilant in habitat were they encounter lots of potential predators. The vigilant behavior causes them to not eat as much. They will also use lower quality habitat where encounters with predators are lower. The combination of eating less and residing in poorer habitats typically correlates with lower body mass and higher susceptibility to mortality via exposure, predation, and parasites. Ungulate interactions with wolves on Yellowstone after the reintroduction showed that herds shifted foraging areas in response to wolves. As a result, parts of the park saw birch communities recovery from over browsing. Elk and deer herds shifted to lesser quality habitat.

 

[manumuskin]

If four footeds can learn from predatory attacks why cannot a human being as I am being presumably at the top of the evolutionary peak not seem to learn from chigger attacks? I go back to the same places year in and year out and while i do spray myself sometimes at least twice a year I am lax and succumb to chiggers.yes i survive the attacks and no I don't learn a thing
Al

 

[reptilecraized]

Very good find. I'm always in the woods and have seen TR but have never seen this. Thanks for posting!!!

 

[cranbrake]

lucky you-fantastic find to happen across!for years i've spent hundreds of hours observing TR's in many states but i've never been so fortunate to come upon that,two males in combat.....
regarding the temperment of timber rattlers(Crotalus horridus)-generally if you don't grab one or step on one,you won't get bit.interesting tidbit-the vast majority of rattlesnake envenomations involve young men and/or alcohol........a couple times in the field i've even unwittingly placed my foot down right in front of one,or brushed against one's body,etc. without getting struck at-i'd say a very 'forgiving' species indeed......they do have superior camoflouge in both the mountains and the barrens and often do not rattle,not wanting to give themselves away.they're regarded as one of the more mild-mannered species of rattlesnake.that being said,of course each individual animal is unique,and other variables make it best to keep a respectful distance from them-that's all they want us to do anyway.
again,i'm very jealous.thanks for letting them do their thing!