A look at Rattlesnake research
The Nk'Mip Desert and Heritage Centre held a unique event last Friday as part of the 8th Annual Meadowlark Festival.
The centre is beginning its third year of rattlesnake research and the public was invited to learn more about the shy but venomous rattlers.
The Meadowlark Festival theme Explore, Discover and Experi-ence was a perfect fit for the centre's snake event.
Biologist and conser-vation technician Jeff Brown led a group of about 20 fearless folk on a tracking walk to look for the Western Rattlesnake on the Osoyoos Indian Reserve lands.
Prior to the desert walk, the heritage centre's Lindsay George, likely one of the few who considers snakes to be cute, spoke about the seven varieties that call the desert home. They include: the Common Garter, the Terrestrial Garter, the Racer, the Rubber Boa, the (rare) Night Snake, the Gopher Snake (also known as the Bull Snake) and the Western Rattlesnake.
The centre's resident Gopher Snake, named Harpoon, lived up to his reputation as a constrictor as he held on tightly to George during her presentation.
George explained the difference between the non-venomous constrictors and the venomous pit vipers (rattlesnakes).
Next, Jeff Brown described the reason behind the Rattlesnake Research Program and what it hoped to achieve.
Rattlesnakes are a blue-listed species, meaning they are at risk but not endangered.
The greatest threat to snakes is man, Brown explained.
Most snake fatalities are caused by contact with humans and their cars. Snakes will often bask on roadways at dusk and dawn to absorb the heat of the morning sun and the last heat waves from the pavement in the evening.
Raptors also have an affect on the snake population.
Another reason for the rattlesnake's decline has to do with their breeding cycle, Brown said.
A female rattlesnake must reach the age of seven before she is able to give birth, and then she will only reproduce once every three years, giving birth to 6-12 young.
Rattlesnakes are born live, not hatched from eggs, and come fully equipped with all the venom they need for a lifetime that can last up to 25 years.
The goals of the Rattlesnake Research Program include looking at finding ways for snakes and people to coexist.
The mark and recapture program allows us to bring in snakes, paint their rattles for future sight identification, and insert a tiny microchip into the snake so we can track their movements through radio teleme-try, Brown explained.
Only 20 snakes are outfitted with microchips at any given time, and only male snakes are wired because the process would be more invasive for female snakes.
Brown and other researchers at the centre monitor the snakes on a daily basis, checking their locations and tracking their movements.
Snakes are habitual animals that tend to stay within their approximate 100 square metre ranges.
The snakes that are captured are held only temporarily in the centre's snake hotel while biologists assess their overall health, weigh and measure them, then release them back near where they were found.
After explaining the capture and release program in detail, Brown led the group out on the trail to look for a rattler.
The group was lucky enough to spot a rattlesnake along the trail and got to see first hand how well it blended with its surroundings.
The snake performed a few moves – a tail rattle, a coil and then a quick dart, before moving off to disappear in the grass.
According to Brown, rattlesnakes have an undeserved bad reputation.
Only five or six people per year in Canada are bitten by rattlesnakes. Most people who are bitten by a snake have done something to provoke an attack, Brown said.
60 per cent of the time, a snake will rattle and warn you when you get too close, but 40 per cent of the time you will never see them because they will stay still and blend into the background.rnIf a person is bitten, there is a 25 per cent chance no venom will have been injected. This is called a 'dry bite.'rnFor those who are bitten and get a dose of venom, the crucial thing to do is get to a hospital and keep one's heart rate down. A bite victim must undergo a series of injections (at an astounding cost of $30,000) but will recover completely.
According to Brown, rattlesnakes are patient hunters.
A snake will often wait by a mouse hole for hours until food literally runs by its face. The snake will then strike and wait a while before tracking the animal by infra-red sensing 'pits,' finally going on to enjoy its meal.rnThe Nk'Mip Desert and Heritage Centre invites visitors to observe the various snake activities on site.
They also have an Adopt a Rattlesnake plan for those hard-to-buy-for people.
Funding from supporters goes toward purchasing equipment and veterinary fees for the surgical implanting of radio transmitters.
Contact them at 250-495-7908 for more information, or visit: www.nkmipdesert.com/rsnkprgm.asp
