Virginia Wildlife Demo - 32

BEST OF VIRGINIA WILDLIFE

Timber Rattlesnake Facts

The timber rattlesnake, copperhead and
cottonmouth are the only venomous species
in Virginia. All three have vertical cat-like
pupils, a pit between each eye and nostril,
and retractable fangs.
Because a timber rattlesnake's venom is
mainly myotoxic and hemotoxic, its main
function is to destroy muscle and burst red
blood cells, which limits the amount of
oxygen that can be carried.
Venom is used to safely kill prey such as mice
and squirrels that could otherwise inflict serious injury on the snake during their capture.

A rattlesnake does not have ears but can
sense vibrations from the ground through its
body.
A single squirrel can provide enough nutrition
for a rattlesnake to survive the entire year.

Rattlesnakes are known to travel between 1.5
and 2.5 miles from their den sites.

Rattles are added each time a rattlesnake sheds.
They may shed several times a year, so aging individuals by their rattles is inaccurate.
The purpose of rattles is thought to have evolved
to warn large animals like buffalos from stepping
on them.
Since 1948, only five deaths in Virginia have been
attributed to venomous snake bites. This is significantly less than annual deaths caused by
dogs, horses and lightening strikes

An image of a rattlesnake with the phrase "Don't
Tread On Me" was a Revolutionary War flag.
Benjamin Franklin compared characteristics of
the rattlesnake to that of our fledgling nation.

Many species without rattles such as ratsnakes,
kingsnakes and copperheads will shake their
tails in dry leaves to make a rattling sound.
Rattlesnakes are a New World group known only
from North, Central, and South America.

©David Garst

Declines in canebrakes have resulted in
their listing as a state endangered species.
To prevent this same fate for timbers,
David seeks to determine how they are faring and what can be done to secure their
numbers. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
State Wildlife Grant, administered
through the Virginia Department of Game
and Inland Fisheries' Nongame and Endangered Species Program, funds his research.
The Virginia Department of Game
and Inland Fisheries is interested in the
timber rattlesnake because it plays vital
roles in Virginia's mountain forests. Timbers help control numbers of rodents such
as mice, chipmunks and squirrels. In turn,
they are prey for red-tailed hawks, black
racers, great horned owls, barred owls and
opossums. Because they require large
forested tracks with little or no human
habitation, timber rattlesnakes truly represent some of the last remaining wilderness
in the Commonwealth.
In order to get a clear picture of rattlesnake populations, David is focusing his
efforts on finding sites called birthing rookeries. A rookery site is usually an open,

©David Garst

Above: Snakes are indvidually marked on their
rattle to provide a unique identifier. Because a
new rattle segment is added every time the
snake sheds, which can be several times a year,
using the number of rattles to determine age of
the snake is inaccurate. Right: Timber rattlesnakes have two phases: yellow (above),
black (below), or variations of the two. Gender
or geographic location has no relationship to
color phase. Both phases provide excellent
camouflage on the forest floor.

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