A Rattle Snake Explosion
This story is titled, "A Rattlesnake Explosion," because of the number of rattle snakes my fellow tour guides and I had seen in just 25 days. I can’t remember the last time I saw so many Eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes within one month and I was trying to figure out just what might have caused their unexpected appearance and behavior.
There had been so many sightings I’m not sure where to start.
I may as well start from the beginning. Our first sighting occurred on December 23rd, Juan spotted something in the road just before he got to the front gate at Billie Swamp Safari. Juan, called Ed who immediately jumped into his truck and went to check it out. Being exited, Ed was there in no time at all. When Ed arrived, he saw that it was an Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake, the largest of the venomous snakes in Florida. Ed scooped the rattlesnake onto his snake hook and set it in the bed of his pickup truck. On December 26th, we spotted another Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake at the same location. The four and one half foot snake slowly made its way out onto the road while we watched.
In the first week of January, Cathy and Jodi loaded up their swamp buggies with tourists and left the swamp buggy dock at the same time. On the return trail, Cathy spotted something lying across the path in front of her. As she pulled up to the object she saw that it was an Eastern Diamondback. For some reason the snake would not move and as she waited, Jodi caught up with her. Jodi went to step off her swamp buggy to ask Cathy what was wrong. Before she could step down, Cathy yelled, "there is a five and a half foot rattlesnake in front of me." With that said, there was no way Jodi was getting off her buggy. Cathy could not go around the snake and she didn’t want to run it over, so using caution, she stepped down and picked up a long tree branch that she was going to use to push the snake off the trail. Before she could even get close enough to use the stick, the snake decided to slither off into the saw palmetto. Cathy said she took a deep breath of relief (as did her passengers) and continued the tour.
Within the next five days, Gus (One Bear) Hewy, and myself, Glenn (Gatorman) Wilsey both spotted Eastern Diamondbacks at different points along the trail. We know the snakes were most likely different because we compared their size and markings.
Then, Mike, the chef at Billie Swamp Safari’s "Swamp Water Caf�" said that as he was driving onto the reservation to come to work he had to swerve to one side of the road to keep from running over another Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake. Mike said the rattler he saw was about five and a half feet long.
Two days after Gus and I saw our rattlers, Colin and I were working in the Billie Swamp Safari snake room when Colin received a call from a Seminole tribe member reporting that he had a rattlesnake in his yard. Colin said, "lets go Glenn," so, we drove to the address as fast as we could. As we arrived we could see the whole family was very concerned. One gentleman was standing in the yard with a long pole. He pointed us to where the snake was coiled up, next to a tree. It is said that one drop of venom from an Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake could kill ten people, however, the same venom could be used in medicine to treat cancer and other ailments. If we don’t keep the Eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes around, then we can’t experiment with their venom. Colin tried to scoop the rattlesnake up with his snake hook. The rattlesnake decided it was time to make a fast beak for the thick brush. I grabbed the rattlesnake by it’s tail so it couldn’t escape. Holding the angry snake by the tail, I realized that I had the keys to the locked snake box in my pocket. I pulled the rattlesnake out in the open and then let it go. Colin took control of the snake, grabbing the snake by the tail. Using great caution, Colin walked the rattlesnake back to the van. I quickly unlocked the snake box and Colin set the rattlesnake in and closed the lid.
Finally, on January 18th, John Martinez and I went out to an area called the "Oasis" to drop off an alligator. On the way back, I noticed a big Eastern Diamondback crossing the trail. We needed a big rattlesnake for our shows, and because the snake was over 5 feet long we decided to capture it and bring it back with us. We jumped off the swamp buggy and I grabbed the rattlesnake by it’s tail to keep it from getting away. John pinned its head down gently then grabbed the rattlesnake by its head, and when he had control of its head, I handed him the tail. We didn’t have any sort of container to put the big snake in, so John just held the snake until we got back.
The strange thing about seeing all of those Eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes was the time of the year. December, January and February are supposed to be the coldest months of the year for South Florida and the snakes don’t usually come out if they don’t have to because, as reptiles, they are cold blooded. I had a chance to sit and talk with Ed and Gus. We were all looking for some kind of answers as to why we were seeing so many Eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes at this time of the year. We came to several conclusions but the most reasonable answers we could agree on, the two factors most likely to cause this phenomenon, had to be the weather and the construction in the area.
Strange weather we’re having this year. Many heat index records have been broken. During what was supposed to be the coldest part of the year, It remained moderate. Here in South Florida, I guess we didn’t really have a winter this year, because, there were only a few days that got truly cold and they didn’t all happen together. This moderate weather spurred a false-spring all along the east coast, not just in Florida. In the middle of January the cherry trees were blooming in Washington D.C.. Our plants were flourishing with new leaves, and the rattle snakes were active, sunning themselves across the roads and trails here at Billie Swamp Safari.
It was Ed who mentioned that he thought the construction in the area had a lot to do with all the rattlesnake sightings. I agreed. On the north side of the Seminole reservation, a developer is building a new housing development. As they clear off the land they also unearth reptiles that live just underground. Those reptiles and other animals have to move to another area where they can still build their burrows and find the food that they need. Where they end up moving to is where we are seeing them. This whole area, including the part that is being cleared by the developer, is prime habitat for the gopher tortoise. The Gopher tortoise digs burrows into the ground to hide and escape the tropical heat. There are lots of small critters that can’t do their own digging so they like to share a burrow with the gopher tortoise. The #1 critter that likes to share the gopher tortoise’s burrow is the Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake. The rattlesnake and the tortoise get along just fine and share the living room with each other. The other critters that may show up to share a burrow could be a rabbit, squirrel, rat or mouse. The rattlesnake doesn’t even have to go to the dining room to eat because he likes to eat all the other critters that come in, wanting to share the living room.
Many of my friends that hunt snakes for fun, say they don’t see many Eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes when they go out "herping".
Ok, I know that’s not a real word, however, the study of reptiles is called herpetology, so we call hunting for snakes herping. (Gatorman believes in education) It is exciting to see and hear the Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake in the wild. The second I hear the rattling of the snake’s tail, my heart skips a beat. Then, seeing this magnificent reptile coiled up, with it’s head cocked back, its tail up high and the rattles shaking as hard as they can... yes, that is an exciting moment for me. Anyone who knows me can tell you that besides alligators, I love looking for snakes of all kinds. Some of my most exciting moments are when I happen to find one of Florida’s four venomous species, and now that I’m working at Billie Swamp Safari, I can present educational, venomous snake shows on a daily basis. I am one of the few employees that have the desire and experience to handle these dangerous reptiles every day. In our shows we always show the largest rattlesnake in North America, the Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake.
Lots of people are saying that it would be a good idea to put the Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake on the protected species list. I also think this is a good idea. The Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake has been getting harder and harder to find. We wouldn’t have seen so many if not for the unusual weather and the snakes losing their homes due to development. I can’t understand why so many people want to kill rattlesnakes. It is so nice of the rattlesnake to warn us that we are too close. The rattlesnake doesn’t want to bite people, it just wants to be left alone. Some people hear the rattlesnake’s warning and kill the snake for being nice. If they left it alone and backed away, giving the snake its space, the snake would eventually hide and wouldn’t come back out until the person was gone. Believe me, we don’t want those snakes gone. We need the rattlesnakes and I think the world is better with them than without them.
Well, that’s it for this month. I hope you have enjoyed this month’s story of an airboat guide. If this is your first time here, why don’t you take some time to read some of the archived stories that go back almost 10 years now by clicking the link that says to Gatorman’s past stories and as always, I hope you enjoy your visit to the Airboats and Animals of Florida website.
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