careful where you 'go' in the bush

[Garyv]

Lots of them up on the Bruce Peninsula...please explain why you would want to kill them? They

were here before we started destroying their habitat. Don't bother them and for the most part they will not bother you.

Edited July 28, 2008 by Garyv

[Rizzo]

find him in the wild, very nice, snap a photo. Find him at the cottage with my young children nearby and he's a goner. I'll pay the fine too

[ehg]

Great pictures of the little critter.

I find they do not make very good toilet paper

Thanks for the heads up. Found that poison ivy isn't good for wiping either.

ehg

[Raf]

A rare sighting Raf, thanks for sharing it with us. In my years of stompping around the Massassauga PP, Moon River, etc. only ever encountered one suninn itself on a rock.

 

Very cool.

 

that was a first time for me, hopefully not the last.

 

we've seen it here, lots of negative connotations surrounding snakes.. particularly the only one that is venomous in Ontario. this little guy was not threating at all, just letting us know that he was in the area and to watch your step.

 

while i am sure getting bit by one would be very unpleasant, they are protected/endangered and it'd be a shame to lose another species. just be aware that they do exist (particularly in the bruce peninsula and eastern shore/islands of georgian bay). if you hear a rattle, stop, don't panic, find the source of the sound and back away. they are not (usually) aggressive. they eat frogs and other small animals, you are hardly on their menu. you'd more than likely have to step on one or try to pick one up to get bit.

 

if you do get bit, it's not a death sentence - though definately seek medical attn. they don't always inject venom, particularly if they don't view you as food and a young snake is more likely to hit you with more venom than an older one. parry sound and i believe, midland hospitals have the anti-venim on hand. i understand it only works once.

 

i've read that there have only been 2 fatalities attributed to rattler bites in the history of ontario. if that warrants eradicating them, then i suggest you stay off the highways.

Edited July 29, 2008 by Raf

[lunkerbasshunter]

parry sound hospital carries the anti venom in stock, i know a guy that was bit by one a few years back. he was told that it happens about a dozen times a year.

 

i wouldnt kill one but if it was near a cottage where my kids where at i would have someone come and remove it for sure.

 

Cheers!

[uglyfish]

i agree, to kill it, very ignorant... and u deserve to get bit by one just for that comment. its such a gorgeous looking snake... too bad all our buildings need to expand has pushed it into hiding and near extinction.... as with so many other snake, and reptile species. congrats on seeing one, truely rare and quite a thrill. i would love to see one in person.

[Musky or Specks]

A couple of years back my buddy Fred and I did an overnight hike for some largemouth into Spence Lake which is just up the railway tracks from Big Chute. On the way out walking the railway ties My foot came down inches from one tucked beside a railway tie. After drying myself we stood a couple feet away and just watched it. It was a beautiful creature and to think of killing one is just assinine.

[snag]

Funny you should bring this up Raf.

 

I had a similar experience recently.

 

I ended up removing it myself!

 

I was at a cottage with my wife, son (2yr. old=vulnerable), niece and nephew.

 

Wife wanted it dead.

 

I refused for all the reasons you cited.

 

I ended up making a noose on a stick.

It took me literally 2 min to make:

 

1. String

2. Plastic tie

3. Stick

 

I had to make it fast before it slithered away under the cottage.

If I didn't remove it, my wife would be paranoid the vacation!!

 

It took me 2 tries and I got it!

It went CRAZY! Pure muscle.

My adrenaline was pumping.

 

I safely relocated it on the neighbours property

No pics of the catch but here she/he is

It was a nice size too!

 

 

My wife thought I was pretty hot after that.

Danger is an aphrodisiac.

Grrrrrrr.

 

[Fisherman]

sighted this wknd

 

 

 

 

eastern massassauga rattlesnake

 

it's a good thing they are timid and will let you know you're getting too close!!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, after looking at the above picture of the eye of the snake, this is not a rattlesnake but the often misidentified eastern fox snake. Take a real close look at the pupil of the shown snake, it is round, rattlesnakes have a vertical slit pupil. I had one of these fox snakes in the camground at Meaford a couple years back, just about jumped out of my shoes. They also mimmick the tail rattling, but have no loose rattles. Also, the head is not triangular, common with most venemous ones. Check the following: The Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) is the only venomous snake in Ontario. It is characterized by the presence of a heat sensitive pit between the eye and the nostril, a segmented rattle at the tip of the tail, a vertical eye pupil and keeled scales. The body colour is grey to brown with dark brown or black blotches along its sides. Blotches near the tail sometimes join to form rings. The belly colour is black. The Fox snake: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Snake

Edited July 29, 2008 by Fisherman

[Raf]

we may have to agree to disagree.

 

check out the middle pic again.. i'll see if i can blow it up a bit more when i get home. definately a vertical pupil a la the picture of a mass rattler below

 

[MCTFisher9120]

Neat, all i ever see are water snakes.

[Nemo]

SNAG bet the neighbours didn't think you were so HOT...???

 

LOL

[Raf]

the angle of the shot does not help, but you can see the vertical pupil a little better with this blow-up

 

 

i know they are often confused and the vert pupil is an excellent clue

Edited July 29, 2008 by Raf

[jwl]

all these replies and not one joke about sucking out the poison

[solopaddler]

Cool pic Raf.

My buddy snagged one accidentally while it was swimming between 2 islands in the Moon basin a few years back.

I begged with him to just cut his line but he insisted on unhooking it properly. Of course he was bitten badly.

Within 20 seconds he turned white as ghost, threw up, then passed out in the front of my boat.

I freaked! I managed to find my way to Parry Sound and got him to the hospital with help at the dock.

He came very close to death, and was extremely lucky. 2 doses of anti venin and a 2 week stay in hospital and he slowly managed to recover.

 

What happened was just shear stupidity on a few different levels. It wasn't the snakes fault and I'd certainly never intentionally kill one.

 

They're not an uncommon sighting either. In the many years I've fished and camped on the lower French/Bad River I've seen tons of 'em.

[snag]

SNAG bet the neighbours didn't think you were so HOT...???

 

LOL

 

 

I was thinking that I don't know them NEMO,

So it's O.K. if they might die.

[Joey]

I was thinking that I don't know them NEMO,

So it's O.K. if they might die.

 

Ahahahahahaha, lmao!!!

 

Joey

[xrap]

Cool shots, I saw one last some while fishign the Moon river. We gave him our dead minnow and he slithered away

[MrMike]

[Zubris21]

I think the rattlers are pretty great creatures. It's hard to believe they actually survive up here. When I worked at Camp Kitchikewana on Beausoliel Island, we would frequently have to catch them to keep them away from the kids. We had these huge boots to put on and one of those snake grappling hooks. It got your heart pumping picking those things up, thats for sure. We'd box them, then call the MNR, who would come by, pick them up, do some research (length, weight, girth) then relocate them. Beautiful creatures!

[Tarzan's Jane]

Yep...saw one many years ago working at Severn Lodge when I was 15. It had to be killed, another male worker standing nearby was frozen in fear so I was asked to get the shovel...I was given the tail as a souvenir to bring home and show my doubting family and friends....kept it in a sealed plastic container all summer...packing up on my last day, opened the container and that was the end of that...horrific smell!!

[Rizzo]

relocated it to the neighbours? Sure hope its like that Australian Simpson's episode where the neighbour is 10 km's away! Relocate it to our neighbours up north it would make it back in 8.5 seconds

[snag]

relocated it to the neighbours? Sure hope its like that Australian Simpson's episode where the neighbour is 10 km's away! Relocate it to our neighbours up north it would make it back in 8.5 seconds

 

I spun him around a few times to confuse him.

 

Actually, I was afraid my home made noose would choke him as he was going INSANE. So I decided to let him go after sprinting for about 5 min.

 

I'm sure you're right though.

 

All I cared about was my wife not standing on the kitchen table with a broom shrieking at a peice of rope at 4am.

[Joey]

This is funny. After reading this post, and especially solopaddler's reply, I had a very vivid dream last night. I dreamt that I was bitten by a rattlesnake and we were in a remote area, but some stranger had some "homemade" antivenom and gave me a few shots. I remember my hand and legs got all swollen and they were going to give me more and I didn't want them to because of Raf saying it only works once. Boy was I glad to wake up, but it gave me a chuckle that a thread from OFC could invade my sleep like that

 

Joey

[skeeter]

Very cool pics Raf! A snake has to be one tough bugger to live in the GWN!... and killing one out in the wild is ignorant.

They're the best friend you never knew you had.

 

Too bad they don't eat skeeters!!!

 

hey greencoachdog

thats not nice

what did i do???

 

lol........