#yosemite #rattlesnake #bear #trailrunning
Here's me with my makeshift broom noose after I got the snake and crawled up out of the crawlspace.
I was all suited up because of the heavy dust and rat turds under there. It was ...a day.
Free at last! I took it several hundred yards away to the edge of the wild desert where there was a giant fallen pile of brush so at least it can get safe and get its bearings while it figures out where it wants to go next.
Bitey snake in the bucket. Such a handsome guy. Western diamondback. They're very common around here.
The black-and-white stripes are to help call visual attention to the rattle and the sound that the snake is making. Rattlesnakes are generally reclusive and rarely aggressive. The purpose of the rattle is to warn you off.
This is a form of aposematism, a very clear warning that this animal is not good to eat or mess with. Is it fascinating evolutionary adaptation. Wikipedia has a good discussion of it. Worth following some of the links too!
Visiting this gorgeous Western Diamondback (Crotalus atrox) showing off that iconic diamond pattern.
One of North America's most formidable pit vipers — best appreciated through glass.
#Rattlesnake #Herpetology #snek https://www.cernunnosfoundation.com/nature-pictures/western-diamondback-rattlesnake/