Crotklauberi

Here is that bull on opening day. Cool to see someone get him. We got close, about 80 yards and a shift in the wind and they were gone. Cheers,

A pronghorn and a dead head! Cheers

Here are a few finds from SW AZ. Between myself and my friends we have found 6 rams heads and horns. These are my finds. Cheers

^^^ that is definitely not true. First line of defense for a rattlesnake is to not rattle and hope to go unseen. Different species have different temperaments but there is absolutely nothing that suggests they are evolving not to rattle more than they do or don't already. I guess I have a really hard time grasping how we all pretty much "love the outdoors" <<<<<<paraphrasing most people interests, and kill something that just lives out there because we don't understand it. A few years ago while on the October deer hunt I sat down under a shade tree to eat lunch. It wasn't very tall grass and I checked before I sat. About 30 minutes after sitting something got my on the wrist. I first thought I put my hand in a cactus then turned around to see a rattle snake not rattling just staring at me after I got bit. Not sure what I did wrong, I agree he didn't strike for the heck of it he was protecting himself/home but I couldn't really have avoided it How bad was the bite?

I have stepped on many rattlesnakes and have never been bitten. There is a really good study done by a park biologist who worked in the White tanks using a prosthetic leg. He would use it to "step" on the rattlesnakes and the almost never bite. Any good pair of boots would protect you in the highly unlikely event of that happening. Why would you kill it for not rattling?

Very cool! I saw several the other day as well but I was looking for them! Never tire of seeing the Halloween Geckos!

Thats a nice looking Mojave!

Rschaumb thanks for sharing those pics! COOSEFAN, Your rattlesnake is indeed and Arizona black. Although the do turn black as they age they retain the ability to change color and rather dramatically. I have caught them when they are as black as the night sky and within minutes turned into a similar looking snake to the one you posted. I have observed color change in social situations as well. Such as a male approaching a female. I do not know why they can change so dramatically however stress seems to be a factor but I also hypothesis that they communicate via that method as well. Stellar looking snake BTW. That Sonoran Boa is awesome as well! I saw my first in Alamos, a bit farther south.

Great pic of the little black! And that lep is awesome! Thats not my house, those are just houses around the phoenix metro area that I removed animals from!!!

Humans create such great habitat for wildlife, our houses offer shelter and permanent water which attracts birds and rodents which in turn attract snakes. I'm sure most of you have seen a hieroglyphic depicting a coiled up snake. This of course is a rattlesnake as they are the only type that spends anytime on the surface in this posture. Native artwork never depicts the snake in an aggressive or threatening way, there is a reason for that. Western culture has sadly vilified them and blown them out of proportion in such a Hollywood way. Our interpretation of their behavior is often misleading and we have been taught that. What is truly defensive is interpreted as aggressive. A human approaching a snake would be like and elephant coming at you, except you can out walk a snake! Common defensive posture

Thank you, throw some pics up! That speck uses that same bush from emergence to ingress, I imagine it dens in the root system of a near by Iron Wood tree. She is by far the most habitual snake I know. Being bitten sucks, I know. It is extremely uncommon for someone to just get randomly bitten, IE: Not trying to kill or handle the snake. I remove hundreds of rattlesnakes of many species from people yards every year with no incidents. Its just part of living in the desert. Relocation nearby is a very effective way to keep them from coming back. Consider it from the point of view of the snake, it believes that you are a predator trying to eat it, so after capture and release it is going to avoid the spot that it was found. Of the hundreds of calls I have ran I have had one repeat snake. Some examples. Cheers,

Cool pics 520HUNT! Really dig those green rats, and coral looks like its a monster!

It honestly takes a lot of observation. There are differences in the physical aspects of the sexes. Males have a longer thicker tail (the base of the rattle to the vent) and wider heads and as adults are typically noticeably larger than females. In some species the males are more brightly colored. An easy one on commonly encountered Western Diamondbacks and Mojaves is that males typically have 3 or more black bands (typically 4) on the tail. Females usually have 3 or less. (Commonly 2).

Yep, Chiricahuas. Was on a research permit, so I got to help install transmitters in the little buggers! I studied the venom and evolution of venom in scutes for my actual MS, but I was into all kinds of venom studies. It was the Mojave toxin and lack of in some areas that sparked my interest. Here's a pdf of my one and only publication to lull you to sleep at night. Wooldridge et al_2001 Mojave Toxin.pdf LOL I will definitely read it! Any pubs for the telemetry study? Have you presented on any of this? Cheers

Nice klaub IA born! Chiricahua mtns? What kind of MS work did you do with the scutulatus? Some of those pictures I am less than a foot from the animal, they are pretty harmless once you get to know them a little better!