Southern Pacific Rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus helleri, hanging out by the entry kiosk at the Santa Rosa Plateau. In fact, at least one person almost ran into it. It pays to pay attention to what you're walking on when you hike. This one is a youngster, perhaps about a year old, with only three rattles. They get one rattle per molt and molt about 2-3 times a year. — at Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve.
3 comments:
I didn't know that about the rattles. That snake was wild and outside of a cage?
Yeah, the snake was hanging out right in front of the little hut the park ranger was sitting in a few hours earlier! Ironic that. Hope he wasn't the reason why the ranger left. ;-P
Come to think about it, I was reading the sign in the kiosk that identified the flowers that were in bloom and I didn't know that the snake was only about 5 feet in back of me until he was pointed out... He wasn't rattling his tail and he blended into the sandy soil really well. You could easily have stepped right onto him if you weren't paying attention.
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