I’ve had two dogs bitten in the leg over the years. They both survived and lived long lives, but those wounds were nasty.Totally get it and agree. Probably wouldn’t kill a grown cow but a calf might die. If they had rattles, even the cattle could avoid them.
Is there scarring of any kind at the tip of the tail? It looks like they've been cut/bitten off in the pastSo, I’m reviving this thread. I killed another one and the same general area that did not have any rattles. I’m wondering if it’s a genetic thing or an evolutionary thing?
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YES! NO KILL SNATTLERAKE! GOOD SNEK!I did a quick internet search and there are several articles about the rattlesnake evolving. Here’s an article about why we are possibly having more rattlesnakes without rattles. All of this is new to me.
Article from KOTA ABC
When you come across a rattlesnake, you expect to hear their rattle, but that might not be the case all the time anymore and the reason might surprise you.
Nowadays, when someone comes across a rattlesnake, they might not hear anything.
Snake Expert Terry Phillips said he's finding more rattlesnakes in the Black Hills unable to rattle.
'What I'm finding is a certain population of these rattlesnakes have an atrophied tail muscle that makes so they are unable to effectively rattle. That makes so not only do they choose not to rattle, but they can't physically, effectively rattle," said Phillips.
But, the ones that rattle are the ones we kill, leaving more and more snakes that can't rattle to breed.
"And so the ones that have an ineffective rattling system are the ones that are growing to maturity and passing on that incomplete dominant trait to their offspring," said Phillips. "So over time, you're going to have a larger and larger population of snakes in the hills that are unable to ineffectively to rattle."
So, if you've ever wanted a reason to NOT kill that next rattlesnake, Philips said that's a good reason. With or without intimidating rattles, snakes are always something to be on the lookout for.
"You know, we can get along just fine with all of them. All it takes is a little bit of common sense, and if you do encounter that rattlesnake, whether he is rattling or not, leave him alone," said Phillips.
The big one looked like it may have had some scarring. The smaller one(6 years later) was smooth.Is there scarring of any kind at the tip of the tail? It looks like they've been cut/bitten off in the past
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