How Do You Avoid A Rattlesnake Attack?
• Head of Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Know your snake. Is it a rattlesnake or a different kind of snake? To be safe, if you don’t know, don’t hang about to find out and if you cannot see without getting closer, don’t even consider edging in any closer. But if you are aware of what the snake looks like, it might be helpful for a number of reasons, the main one being to know what to do if it does bite you or someone in your group. Another reason it may be helpful is to warn off old Uncle John who insists it’s a pussycat of a snake and he’ll prove it by picking it up…. From a safe distance, look for: • A flat, triangular-shaped head (although this may not be adequate to mark it) — broader at the base of the head than at the front • Heavy-bodied • Openings between the nostrils and eyes — these are the heat-sensing pits • Hooded eyes and elliptical pupils — these may not be readily apparent and you’ll have to be fairly close to see this. • Coloration — generally tan and brown patchwor
