[roses of sharon]

Thought I would post a couple of emails that were fwd to me this week from Texas.

Just in case, better to be safe than sorry!

[Inyo-Mono]

Well I used to hunt “rattlers” as a boy back in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s and at least half of them didn’t rattle back then either.

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

Rattlesnakes are probably not smart enough to “learn” behavior of this sort. However (assuming this anecdotal evidence is accurate), perhaps the ones who naturally did not buzz before striking are more likely to survive to breeding age, and therefore would eventually become the majority population. It would be interesting to have a herpetologist look into this.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Bump for reference.

[steve86]

The rattlesnakes around here didn’t get the memo, never having seen a wild pig, I guess.

[lurk]

Do you not see that this is evolution? The buzzing snakes died off and the non-buzzing snakes did not. So, they evolved.

Dawkins is vindicated.

Now move along and stop asking ya-but questions.

[fish hawk]

Rattle snakes are still evolving. Some have even turned into Lawyers. Many have become politicians.

[The KG9 Kid]

My experience is that rattlers won’t buzz unless you stay too near to them for long enough that they become threatened. Most people bit by a rattlesnake never heard them buzz. I had a baby in my backyard that didn’t even make a sound before he got whomped with a rake.

Of course, this hog story does seem to make a good excuse for blasting some feral hogs.

[BIGLOOK]

The latest buzz. Or maybe not.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"For the uninformed, pigs love to eat rattlesnakes."

For the record, pigs love to eat anything that does not eat them first.

" I have a neighbor ranching lady who was bitten 3 weeks ago 2 times by the same snake without any warning"

She should have hit him with the splat-o-matic after the first bite. Hopefully, lesson learned.

"The wild hogs are a problem (ferrule ..."

Just for the record, they are feral, not ferrule.

[blueplum]

the only good rattler is a dead rattler, like the one in this video:

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-18242

[Dusty Road]

This story has been bouncing around for about a year now. I see no truth to it. I killed over 60 rattlers this year and most didn't rattle until they were shot or whopped with the shovel. Another poster mentioned them being caught in the open and I would have to back that up. They seem to be much less likely to rattle when in the brush than in an exposed area. We don't have any hogs on the big ranch just a few Javalina’s and I've never known them to mess with rattlers. The theory that a rattling snake draws attention by the hog's is amusing to say the least. Since the noisy ones get eaten how do they pass that info to the rest.

[diverteach]

[x1stcav]

At 9494’ we ain’t got no rattlers, rattling or otherwise. Need to go down to about 7,500’ to find any.

[mad_as_he$$]

Naw, simple evolution caused by outside forces. The buzzers have all been killed.

[Lakeshark]

*Ahem*

Would a warning really be too much to ask? I mean at least I play Jaws music first........

:-)

[seemoAR]

Some people can smell Rattlesnakes and Water Moccasins before they ever see them. To me, Rattlers smell like licorice candy and Moccasins have a smell like old wet newspapers. I think the snakes use it as a warning if someone is too close.

I have located several that I didn’t see until I started searching after smelling them.

[The Comedian]

Stealth-snakes-with-unlicensed-rattle-suppressors ping.

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[Rum Tum Tugger]

How do the pigs avoid being bitten? Are they immune to rattlesnake venom?