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If it were NOT for this then the entire area could EASILY be over run w/ rattlesnakes and the entire region be left a waste land uninhabitable to any human or other animal.
Nonsense. Snakes have been in TX long before man stepped foot there, if what you were saying is true, snake populations would be out of control right now, as mankind has only recently (on earths timetable) begun to move into snake country. Snake hunters still have a hard time meeting the "quota" for some rattlesnake roundups! Why? Because many of their dens have been depleted. Many females have been butchered, many neonates also. In fact in NM one participant has had to travel way outside his normal hunting grounds because the snakes are wiped out. Do you know the average lifespan of a rattler? Anywhere from 15-30 years depending. Its not like theyre mice who breed uncontrollably during their short lives. It can take a female up to 10 years to reach breeding age, some beginning as early as 4-6 years old. Also, many neonates are killed by other predators (ie kingsnakes, hawks, etc) at a young age. Many snakes from a clutch are destroyed by nature, which keeps THEIR population in check. So go ahead people, keep butchering innocent rattlesnakes. Just dont come crying to me when crops are destroyed and another plague occurs from rodent infestations. Wanna talk about losing livestock?
Nonsense. Snakes have been in TX long before man stepped foot there
My big question, seeing your location, is have YOU ever stepped foot in Texas? Have you ever encountered a Western Diamondback rattlesnake? And if one took up in your yard, around your family and pets, would you try to make nice with it?
I think you need to do a bit of research at least on the Western Diamondback rattlesnake. These things are highly aggressive and venomous. Often, they don't even give warning that they're about to strike, and they can attack a person from 3 feet away.
I'm an animal lover but I don't feel the least bit sorry for Western Diamondbacks. We have plenty of animals in Texas who can take care of the rodent population, thank you very much -- owls do a superb job and they don't attack humans. Living not far from Sweetwater, I am GRATEFUL that there are people in this area who will respond and kill rattlesnakes that threaten humans. You would be, too, if you actually LIVED HERE.
My big question, seeing your location, is have YOU ever stepped foot in Texas? Have you ever encountered a Western Diamondback rattlesnake? And if one took up in your yard, around your family and pets, would you try to make nice with it?
I think you need to do a bit of research at least on the Western Diamondback rattlesnake. These things are highly aggressive and venomous. Often, they don't even give warning that they're about to strike, and they can attack a person from 3 feet away.
I'm an animal lover but I don't feel the least bit sorry for Western Diamondbacks. We have plenty of animals in Texas who can take care of the rodent population, thank you very much -- owls do a superb job and they don't attack humans. Living not far from Sweetwater, I am GRATEFUL that there are people in this area who will respond and kill rattlesnakes that threaten humans. You would be, too, if you actually LIVED HERE.
Yes, Ive herped in west Texas several times, mainly around the Big Bend area. Im VERY familiar with Crotalus atrox. Sounds like youre not familiar at all with them based on some things. Lets take a look, shall we?
1) The WDB is NOT aggressive. Youre confusing aggressive with defensive. Learn the difference. Yes, WDBs are quite defensive, easy to rattle and take up a defensive posture. Will they strike easily? Sure. Doesnt make them aggressive. If they get into a defensive posture and rattle, its a CLUE that theyre upset and dont want you near them. Makes them NO DIFFERENT than any other wild animal on earth. Can you tell me how a snake is different than any other animal on earth when its provoked? If one strikes w/o warning its usually because its been stepped on. And if you live in snake country, YOU need to watch where you walk. I actively hunt rattlesnakes for pleasure, and believe me, when youre in snake country out in the bush, you HAVE to watch where you walk, its just common sense. If you go out trapsing around in snake country w/o a care in the world and get bit for stepping on one, YOURE the one at fault, not the snake. And do you know how many times IVe been next to rattlesnakes and not been bitten? More times than I care to count. There goes the "aggressive" theory right there. They want nothing more than to remain unseen. People just hate/kill snakes because, well, theyre uneducated and ignorant regarding snakes.
2) A 3' strike? Wow! Must be some kind of record. Snakes can usually only strike up to 1/3 their body length. A 3' strike would mean a 9' WDB (which would be 2' 3" LONGER than the longest WDB on record)!!!! Call the Guiness Book of World Records everyone! Got a record length WDB in Texas! If you would EDUCATE yourself about WDBs, youd find that they rarely get over 5' 5". A BIG WDB is still less than 6' long and the world record WDB was measured at 6' 9" which is HUGE for a WDB. "3' strike distance"??? lol Riiiiiiight.
Ok people, lets not feed this guys need for conflict. As you can tell this has become a trolling for a fight.. lets just ignore him and move along to something else.
I tend to live at peace with my fellow critters where possible - we all have our place in the ecosystem. And when I was 5, growing up on an 800 acre church camp in East Texas, I had 40 snakes in jars in my back yard (whenever the campers found one IN the cabin, they'd call my father, and he'd come remove it) so that I would know that it was okay to get close to the pretty king snake but NOT the deadly, equally pretty coral snake, and how to recognize a cottonmouth, a copperhead, a rattlesnake, all of which were common around where I roamed, and I studied their behavior in the wild up (reasonably) close and personal, so it's not that I'm unfamiliar with poisonous snakes.
However, after having watched my dog's head swell up to three times normal size so that one could only see his eyes by peering down into the holes in the flesh, after having seen a yearling filly's leg swollen to FIVE TIMES normal size top to bottom, having watched the suffering caused, and having my own young one on the place, I have a rule. We can live in peace as long as they stay OUT of my territory. If they threaten mine, they're out of here.
I've also seen a rattlesnake big enough to completely cross one side of a farm to market road. (Two, actually.) Did I stop the truck and let him cross? No, I did not - there were homes with children on both sides of that road.
Do I participate in rattlesnake roundups? No, nor do I attend them. Do I understand, from a gut level of experience, what drives them? Absolutely.
Let's face it. The rattlesnake roundup is a cruel as well as senseless spectacle and at best is a remnant of a bygone era. Why a bunch of countryfolk in west Texas feel the need to destroy so many innocent creatures for the sake of a sandwich is beyond me. If you want to eat something try going to a grocery store. And if you want to avoid being bitten try staying out of the snake's habitat. Or is that too much to ask?
Guess you've never heard the term 'mean as a rattlesnake'. These are not innocent creatures. I see you recommend just going to the grocery store for something to eat. That's good, that's easy. Just as easy as going to the restraurant for a good ole steak or hamburger. Trouble is, nothing is as easy as it appears. It takes people raising that beef for it to magically appear on your table. They endure all sorts of elements to accomplish this, including Mother Nature's wrath at times and varmints that cause destruction. Not a pretty sight to see a 600 lb. steer ready to be shipped to market to come up stone cold dead from a rattlesnake bite.
How about fire ants? I daresay you poison them. Ouch! They can bite you and really mess up your backyard activites, huh? Do you know they can also eat the eyes out of a newborn calf before you know it? Is it cruel to posion the fireants too? After all, they are just innocent litle creatures.
How about a housefly? Do you swat them? All I can say to you is, you should stay out of their habitat. They were here long before you. Actually snakes were too! This could go back to the Garden of Adam and Eve. You could be living with snakes crawling around you if it were not for the ever sprawling civilization that keeps pushing them further out. So, at some time or another, your ancestors cruelly pushed 'these innocent creatures' out of their habitats, making room for people like you to take their places.
Now for the life of me, I can't imagine anyone ever coming up with the idea of chocolate covered ants and chocolate covered grasshoppers, but someone did and believe it or not, people eat these things. This has been around for some time now. I wonder if you have anthing to say on this matter. For shame, take a poor innocent grasshopper, kill it and cover it with chocolate, then eat it? How cruel! While I don't endorse eating a grasshopper, I am for seeing as many as possible put out of commission.
Rattlesnake hunts provide a service. This is not an activity that is created so someone 'can have a sandwich'.
Here's hoping you're never bitten by a rattlesnake. Same goes for your puppy dog too. Also hope you don't ever decide to take a nice little 'dude' vacation and strike out on a nice little horseback ride and have one of those innocent creatures rattle as you come up on it. If it does, here's hoping your horse doesn't throw you, but if he does, here's hoping you don't hit your head on a rock, or break your neck when you land. I'm sure that innocent creature wouldn't want that to happen to you.
Not everyone lives in an uptown concrete jungle. If they did, what on earth would you be eating? I think sometimes people get so used to going to the supermarket buying packaged meat, milk in a carton, canned vegetbles, etc. , they competely forget how it gets there. If you don't want to be out there with the 'innocent creatures' raising this food, so people such as yourself can have it at their fingertips, you shouldn't be so critical of the people who are out there dealing with rattlesnakes, etc. in order to supply you with 'that sandwich at the grocery store'.
Ok people, lets not feed this guys need for conflict. As you can tell this has become a trolling for a fight.. lets just ignore him and move along to something else.
Educating people and trying to stop roundups from occurring is NOT trolling. Telling people to ignore my thread and not contributing to it, IS trolling.
Yes, I used the wrong word, meant to say "instrumental". Thanks for pointing that out.
Please, Id like for you to find me ONE poisonous snake on earth. Learn a little about them before you jump to conclusions.
And I understand that many are eaten, thats fine by me. I dont advocate killing them for their skin, but if youre gonna kill them just to deplete their populations or sell their heads/rattles as souvenirs, thats where I have a problem.
And no, I dont belong to PETA. I actually dislike PETA. Theyre no different than most people who attend the roundups. Theyre only for the ethical treatment of the cute and cuddly animals, while they ignore the reptiles/invertebrates/etc. Theyre two-faced when it comes to that type of stuff.
Learn a little about them? I've encountered more than I care to count...including 3 different types of rattlesnakes, copperheads.....and water moccasins. All of these are pit vipers, a class of venomous snakes. If you don't think they are poisonous and deadly, um...well......I don't know what to say to you, except...you MUST be kidding.
I agree with you about PETA, but I hate them regardless. And...I like reptiles and amphibians myself. I love non-poisonous snakes, all kinds of frogs/toads and lizards. I find them fascinating, and enjoyed watching a skink sun himself on my AC pad...
Another trolling antagonist who thinks J.R. Ewing owns a oil company in Dallas, we all drive pickups, and my dog's name is Ol Yeller.
For the purpose of being fair, our Great State also hosts an annual rocky mountain oysters festival in Throckmorton. Steve-O, are you against that also?
Now a big plate of battered and fried mountain oysters sounds downright tasty.........along with a side of fries and a couple of dipping sauces....
Guess you've never heard the term 'mean as a rattlesnake'.....
Not everyone lives in an uptown concrete jungle. If they did, what on earth would you be eating? I think sometimes people get so used to going to the supermarket buying packaged meat, milk in a carton, canned vegetbles, etc. , they competely forget how it gets there. If you don't want to be out there with the 'innocent creatures' raising this food, so people such as yourself can have it at their fingertips, you shouldn't be so critical of the people who are out there dealing with rattlesnakes, etc. in order to supply you with 'that sandwich at the grocery store'.
You got it. As long as it is THEIR livelihood that is not at stake....they don't care, and they don't have a clue, not a one.
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