hi i just wanted to sy that i haeve enjoyed your tapes on rattle snakes and your keeping them alive and reocating them and your knowkedge of them thanks a lot
I am in SC and see them often. Never kill them, They don't bother me and I don't bother them. Our rattlers are much larger than the one in this video. We have Eastern Diamondbacks. A small one is 5 feet and a medium one is around 7 feet.
I live in southeastern NC and have been told that some reach several feet long around here. I will not kill a non-poisonous snake, but a rattler, Copperhead, Cottonmouth is definitely endangered if I see it.
Luckily for us here, the prairie rattlesnakes are a protected species, and anyone who does harm to one and is found out will face a pretty steep financial penalty. In my experience, a snake can live among people for several years and never be noticed, and never cause any harm. Then the one odd day that the people see it, next thing you know they're lopping it's head off with a shovel over the imagined threat. It's just a learned cultural response of needless persecution
Poisonous snakes certainly are not protected here. We have plenty of them. Killed 2 Copperheads about 4 years ago, one was on the top step of my porch and my dog was sniffing it when I found it and the other was in front of my garage. Luckily the door was down. I got a cat and have not seen one since. Have a large Black Snake that has been under my house for years. He is fine with me.
Hope that lid does not come off in the Car, reminds me of the movie, "Snakes on a plane." When I lived in Fla. I had a ring neck black snake the used to frequent my backyard. One morning as I was coming out of my house, I found his/her shed skin about 3 feet from my front door on my porch. I have been told that they were not poisonous. Even found a very young one, about 6 inches long, in my garage one day.
I have been running for 20 years in the coulees of Lethbridge and I don't go to that quadrant of the city. I stick to the north side of the bridge and the south side by the college. The south West Side is all kinds of trouble when it comes to snakes. They are all over and I see them but that area (where he is dropping these) are a total no go for me.
I was always told that a lost snake is a dead snake, because it can't find its way back to the den. When you relocate to Popson, do you confine them there for a while to consolidate new memory of the new den?
I bring all snakes back to the nearest den site that I know of. So in the case of this one, I brought it back to a den close to Bridge Drive... not much more than 400 meters or so from where I picked it up
Im often walking all over the coulees though grass off the beaten path... What do I do to prevent possible bites from rattle snake?... Ive never seen one but Im sure someday I will run into one.
Easiest prevention is to wear boots and bite-proof gaitors. Personally, I'd rather take the risks and be comfortable in my shorts and sandals. The snake's first defence is to use it's camouflage, lay still and hope not to be noticed. Come close, and it will likely (though not always) rattle as a secondary defence. Touch it, and things escalate to Defence Level 3... that's where you don't want to go
So do they hide on rainy days? I came down to Lethbridge last September when Calgary got the snow. I wanted to check out the Japanese Gardens but the rain changed my plans. I never encountered a rattlesnake but then again, I might not even encounter one on a sunny day. And their rattle is sure loud! :P
Prairies... no wonder. Is their signage about the parameter of that woodpile? Likely there would be, because what a 'landmine". I was told a tale of a boy in the '30's who in Arkansas wandered into a den of moccasins in tall grass and his body was retrieved only by using long rods with hooks due to the mass of snakes.
Ryan, I notice that through the years you are releasing a lot of snakes into the same spot (the woodpile)--isn't that likely to cause problems with the local ecosystem and having enough food for them all in that area? Looking forward to your reply. :)
My protocol is to release the snakes at the nearest known hibernaculum (or there-about... I use the wood pile often so that I don't have to reveal the location of an actual hibernaculum in the area). But in any case, I'm not actually "relocating" snakes. I'm just bringing them back to their most likely starting point for the season, in a sense. So I'm not adding new snakes into an area. Just happens the area around that wood pile is dense with snakes, and I get most of my calls from there
Actually, we've talked about things (he and I) since I posted this video, and everything's good. He appreciates what's being done for their conservation, even if it means they're on his land (that the snakes have occupied for thousands of years)
I hope one of his children, grandchildren, wife, neighbor or one of his animals don't accidentally step on one. I don't think they'd care how long the snakes have been there while they were swelling up and possibly dying.
qpwillie , well then you teach family members to keep aware of their surroundings, and that there could be a snake around! I don't care for snakes either, venomous or otherwise. I live in Iowa, and I know for a fact, there are rattlesnakes around here, but, in my 55+ years, I have yet to see one, and as Ryan told me in a post, they are aware of your presence long before you are usually aware of theirs, and they are usually moving on before you discover them, unless they are cornered. So, you hear a rattle move away from it......Don't get nosy!! Snakes perform a vital function in our ecosystem......leave them alone, and they'll leave you alone, and mind their own business.
Dude, come down to Texas on vacation. You will dump when you see not only the quantity, but the size and quality of rattlers. Amazing. Everything is bigger in Texas.
People have lived in this area forever, that have never seen a rattler .... They are not big or common here .... and they seem to have more rights than people do ... I've seen pix of 'Alvin Texas..... road was littered with them .... You can have them, too.....
Bobbys site It's a very hot climate in this part of Canada In summer it is like a blast furnace and in winter if it it is cold enough for snow and snows it melts within two days!
I live in NM a friend of mine her grandpa lived 1/2mile from Mexican Border back in 1911 the whole area from Florida Mts NM to now Az. was in tall grass 4' ft tall his horse got bit by this huge rattler, they wound up killing itcause grandpa also got bit on the foot the picture they took was there uncle was standing on the saddle on a mule n uncle was 5'11" had his arm streached out over his head holding tail in air over his head n its head was on the ground by approx. 2' uncle said they called them coontail rattlers, there were the largest snakes in area there were 7 nearly that size that were desposed of to clear the land for cattle ranching . south of Deming NM
didn't think they were endangered, surveyed hwy 555 during the 90's, lotsa run over ones from the trucks, they would be sunning themselves on the shoulders... always wanted to get teh skins off the dead ones on the road, but too messed up. always be careful walking in the ditch there for sure. Thanks for sharing it is a beauty.
Not to be a Safety Sally, but I would suggest getting a more secure method of transport other than a five gallon bucket with a lid held on by a bungee cord - especially since you are transporting in the back of a SUV. If you get in a car wreck, that bucket flies around inside the vehicle and the snake gets out. If you don't care about your safety, think about the first responders who have to enter your car to render medical attention.
Rattlesnakes are like Marxist, the only good one is a dead one. I'm surprised the bigger rattler didn't kill and eat the smaller one. Call me crazy but I believe I'd wear Snake Gaiters over my tennis shoes at least. I guess they release them, rather than killing them like i would do, so they can get paid again to catch and release them. Makes sense I guess.
It's in Montana and Alberta that they reach their maximum size. Big, beautiful animal. A veteran of the prairie, that's for sure.
Sandals? I'd be wearing boots up to my crotch doing what you do! lol
John E, I would be wearing rubber boots or even leg guatds.
Lol!!
I'm glad I live in the Eastern end of Canada. The only snakes we have here are 7 species of garter snakes - all of them non-venomous.
The world needs more good people like you
hi i just wanted to sy that i haeve enjoyed your tapes on rattle snakes and your keeping them alive and reocating them and your knowkedge of them thanks a lot
Seen way bigger in the couleys in shawnessy and dimond city ,when i was a kid ,and bigger in lethbridge as well .
I am in SC and see them often. Never kill them, They don't bother me and I don't bother them. Our rattlers are much larger than the one in this video. We have Eastern Diamondbacks. A small one is 5 feet and a medium one is around 7 feet.
I live in southeastern NC and have been told that some reach several feet long around here. I will not kill a non-poisonous snake, but a rattler, Copperhead, Cottonmouth is definitely endangered if I see it.
Luckily for us here, the prairie rattlesnakes are a protected species, and anyone who does harm to one and is found out will face a pretty steep financial penalty. In my experience, a snake can live among people for several years and never be noticed, and never cause any harm. Then the one odd day that the people see it, next thing you know they're lopping it's head off with a shovel over the imagined threat. It's just a learned cultural response of needless persecution
Poisonous snakes certainly are not protected here. We have plenty of them. Killed 2 Copperheads about 4 years ago, one was on the top step of my porch and my dog was sniffing it when I found it and the other was in front of my garage. Luckily the door was down. I got a cat and have not seen one since. Have a large Black Snake that has been under my house for years. He is fine with me.
Well, until you watch a loved one bit. You’ll tell a different story!
You're more likely to get bit trying to kill it, than just leave it alone.
Hope that lid does not come off in the Car, reminds me of the movie, "Snakes on a plane." When I lived in Fla. I had a ring neck black snake the used to frequent my backyard. One morning as I was coming out of my house, I found his/her shed skin about 3 feet from my front door on my porch. I have been told that they were not poisonous. Even found a very young one, about 6 inches long, in my garage one day.
I came across a couple Eastern Massasauga rattlers back in my Ontario days, haven't seen any in Alberta yet
Only seen one, on the Milk river it was huge ! bigger than this one. Cool video !
I have been running for 20 years in the coulees of Lethbridge and I don't go to that quadrant of the city. I stick to the north side of the bridge and the south side by the college. The south West Side is all kinds of trouble when it comes to snakes. They are all over and I see them but that area (where he is dropping these) are a total no go for me.
Ryan's ride is moving up in the world.
Catch and release. The only way to go. Good video, Chief!
that lid doesn't look secure
I was always told that a lost snake is a dead snake, because it can't find its way back to the den. When you relocate to Popson, do you confine them there for a while to consolidate new memory of the new den?
I bring all snakes back to the nearest den site that I know of. So in the case of this one, I brought it back to a den close to Bridge Drive... not much more than 400 meters or so from where I picked it up
Didnt know they had snake problems in some Canadian suburbs?
James Mckay you more you know ⭐️
I admire your courage, iam afraid of worms, let alone a snake!
Im often walking all over the coulees though grass off the beaten path... What do I do to prevent possible bites from rattle snake?... Ive never seen one but Im sure someday I will run into one.
Easiest prevention is to wear boots and bite-proof gaitors. Personally, I'd rather take the risks and be comfortable in my shorts and sandals. The snake's first defence is to use it's camouflage, lay still and hope not to be noticed. Come close, and it will likely (though not always) rattle as a secondary defence. Touch it, and things escalate to Defence Level 3... that's where you don't want to go
So do they hide on rainy days? I came down to Lethbridge last September when Calgary got the snow. I wanted to check out the Japanese Gardens but the rain changed my plans. I never encountered a rattlesnake but then again, I might not even encounter one on a sunny day. And their rattle is sure loud! :P
I've never encountered a rattlesnake in the rain, so probably they do scoot underground at that time
Well even on a sunny day, I probably won't encounter one.
By the way You Americans, This film is from Canada, Lethbridge is in Alberta ,Canada, see, Rattle snakes are NOT unique only to USA
I want rattlesnake boots and a nice hat, like Mike Horner wears in the adult movies!
2:53 was that a train horn?
Prairies... no wonder. Is their signage about the parameter of that woodpile? Likely there would be, because what a 'landmine". I was told a tale of a boy in the '30's who in Arkansas wandered into a den of moccasins in tall grass and his body was retrieved only by using long rods with hooks due to the mass of snakes.
No signage around dens. That would put the snakes in too much danger, because of people who are culturally programmed to kill them
They talk about our Aussie snakes but I’m glad we don’t have these. They seem to be very cranky!
Did that guy think they were invasive?
Never realized Canada had rattle snakes
Any chance you are hiring?
That camera, trying for a close up is going to get you bit, don't they make a selfi pole to keep you away? Nice info otherwise.
Ryan, I notice that through the years you are releasing a lot of snakes into the same spot (the woodpile)--isn't that likely to cause problems with the local ecosystem and having enough food for them all in that area? Looking forward to your reply. :)
My protocol is to release the snakes at the nearest known hibernaculum (or there-about... I use the wood pile often so that I don't have to reveal the location of an actual hibernaculum in the area). But in any case, I'm not actually "relocating" snakes. I'm just bringing them back to their most likely starting point for the season, in a sense. So I'm not adding new snakes into an area. Just happens the area around that wood pile is dense with snakes, and I get most of my calls from there
I enjoy these videos. I've learned a lot. I didn't even know that rattlesnakes lived that far north.
So, some guy doesn't want venomous snakes slithering around on his property. Imagine that!!
Actually, we've talked about things (he and I) since I posted this video, and everything's good. He appreciates what's being done for their conservation, even if it means they're on his land (that the snakes have occupied for thousands of years)
I hope one of his children, grandchildren, wife, neighbor or one of his animals don't accidentally step on one. I don't think they'd care how long the snakes have been there while they were swelling up and possibly dying.
qpwillie , well then you teach family members to keep aware of their surroundings, and that there could be a snake around! I don't care for snakes either, venomous or otherwise. I live in Iowa, and I know for a fact, there are rattlesnakes around here, but, in my 55+ years, I have yet to see one, and as Ryan told me in a post, they are aware of your presence long before you are usually aware of theirs, and they are usually moving on before you discover them, unless they are cornered. So, you hear a rattle move away from it......Don't get nosy!!
Snakes perform a vital function in our ecosystem......leave them alone, and they'll leave you alone, and mind their own business.
Dude, come down to Texas on vacation. You will dump when you see not only the quantity, but the size and quality of rattlers. Amazing. Everything is bigger in Texas.
People have lived in this area forever, that have never seen a rattler ....
They are not big or common here .... and they seem to have more rights than people do ...
I've seen pix of 'Alvin Texas..... road was littered with them ....
You can have them, too.....
They are not common in Alberta.
Yes including school shootings on kids much bigger, ! and a much bigger problem with the power grid
you are in canada ? why so many rattle snakes in that area?
Bobbys site It's a very hot climate in this part of Canada In summer it is like a blast furnace and in winter if it it is cold enough for snow and snows it melts within two days!
That little one’s a little bittey.
Theresome big ‘uns in the southwest.
do u get paid for rescuing the snakes u catch
Even driving I can hear the snake ... man is it pissed off.
I live in NM a friend of mine her grandpa lived 1/2mile from Mexican Border back in 1911 the whole area from Florida Mts NM to now Az. was in tall grass 4' ft tall his horse got bit by this huge rattler, they wound up killing itcause grandpa also got bit on the foot the picture they took was there uncle was standing on the saddle on a mule n uncle was 5'11" had his arm streached out over his head holding tail in air over his head n its head was on the ground by approx. 2' uncle said they called them coontail rattlers, there were the largest snakes in area there were 7 nearly that size that were desposed of to clear the land for cattle ranching . south of Deming NM
didn't think they were endangered, surveyed hwy 555 during the 90's, lotsa run over ones from the trucks, they would be sunning themselves on the shoulders... always wanted to get teh skins off the dead ones on the road, but too messed up. always be careful walking in the ditch there for sure. Thanks for sharing it is a beauty.
Y’all are brave.
How are you
are you in Canada?
Yes
That’s not Lethbridge I live there I’ve never seen that part of the city
Brayden Firth Well, guess you’ve never been to the Bridgeview RV Resort then
Hiked for years in the couleys
We meet remember in mrs.flacher class hi
Hello
How are you
I'd love to make couple of "rattle snake sandwiches" out of this snake.
Yum! Yum!!.
Lethbridge where
Alberta, Canada
Opened toed shoes eh??
You bet... all you've got to do is know your strike distance
They are not endangered
Last year they were.
In Alberta, Canada their range is limited. They are not diamondbacks, they're prairie rattlers. They can be threatened in application.
They are really need to stop the development or building
What a couple of goobers!
You should watch more videos, Ryan is very good at his job and highly respected in his field.
well shit I wouldn't want to get bit by a rattle 🐍 !!!😲😫😩😖
I'm not afraid of rattle snakes, big wind , or deep water..
I met you at the pow wow in Browning.
Your not tougher than me. Oki. bs
NOTICE how the Big snake stopped rattling when the MICROWAVE Cell Phone popped out to take its picture....Coincidence?.........Yeah Right
Not to be a Safety Sally, but I would suggest getting a more secure method of transport other than a five gallon bucket with a lid held on by a bungee cord - especially since you are transporting in the back of a SUV. If you get in a car wreck, that bucket flies around inside the vehicle and the snake gets out. If you don't care about your safety, think about the first responders who have to enter your car to render medical attention.
God created some special creatures, perfection.
+mattbell555 yep, you're pretty "special" alright
*****
?
Rattlesnakes are like Marxist, the only good one is a dead one. I'm surprised the bigger rattler didn't kill and eat the smaller one. Call me crazy but I believe I'd wear Snake Gaiters over my tennis shoes at least. I guess they release them, rather than killing them like i would do, so they can get paid again to catch and release them. Makes sense I guess.
Unlike Marxists, etc, Rattlers are good for nature. Marxists, on the other hand, are completely useless.
change "marxists" to "right wing american dolts" and your comment is correct. LOL
Over confident wearing shorts.
Been around snakes much have you?
All my life.