Rattlesnake Encounters

On my past 3 hikes, I have seen and/or heard a rattlesnake everyday.  It's very exciting, but certainly a huge adrenaline rush considering those things can kill you. It doesn't help that we are recommended to get anti-venom within an hour of being bitten, and we are just about an hour away from the nearest hospital in Malta. Sure, we could drive fast. But also consider that we're out in the middle of the field not near an accessible road. So we'd have to radio for help, hope someone is listening and is fairly nearby, and hope that person has access to an ATV. During this time, the victim is to lay down with their bite location below their heart and to stay as calm as possible. See? I listened during training. 

However, since we get up at 5 for our hikes, the snakes are still pretty cold when we encounter them. Therefore, they're not likely to strike. So they rattle aggressively to warn us off. 

Don't worry Mom and Dad, I'm wearing gaiters. 

 My first rattler sighting. This is the one I nearly stepped on... His rattler reveals that he was 5-7 years old. 

 Slithering away; 13 July 2014

 Rattler on 16 July 2014, you can see his face and his rattler indicates that he's fairly old

Rattler on 16 July 2014

The video you've been waiting for: I apologize for any crude or weird language I used... I was in shock and weird things came out of my mouth. Snake sighting on 13 July 2014

Rabbits, rattlesnakes, and decapitated birds

Today's hike was an adventurous one! My feet and boots still are not getting along, but they go numb after the first half-mile usually. By 7:15am I was already dripping in sweat, which led to a constant swarm of approximately one million mosquitoes. Although I don't approve of bug stray, I couldn't resist because it was too early in the morning to be THAT annoyed. 

In a moment of concentration as we fought to keep our breath as we crested a hill, a small rabbit scampered about one foot in front of me, giving me my first heart attack of the day. 

My second heart attack was when I almost got bitten by a rattlesnake..... 
While Leah (my hiking partner today) was documenting a small lark sparrow who was nearly decaptiated by flying into the barbed wire fence (photo below), I decided I was going to start switching the camera trap batteries/SD card. As I walked towards the camera (very angrily because of the 47 horse flies biting me in that particular moment) I heard a frighteningly close rattle. I looked down and there was a rattlesnake in its coiled/attack position about two feet away from my foot. I didn't really handle it well because I screamed like a little girl, probably frightening the snake even more. I did, however, run away pretty damn fast. Leah came over to check out the snake from a safe distance, but he was not happy to see another giant homo sapien, so he warned us again with another rattle. In my series of curses, panic, and fly swats, I was able to get a photo of the snake (coming soon!) 

...And there is a strong possibility that my reaction to the snake was caught on our motion-sensors camera. Stay tuned and I'll post it if that's the case!

Dead lark sparrow on barbed wire! :( So sad! (Photo: Leah Mabee) 

I found a mule deer jaw and thought I was funny (Photo: Leah Mabee)