https://www.fox13now.com/news/...-rattlesnake-in-tree

Can you imagine being out and about for a walk in the morning or evening and having one of these drop down on top of you?

Scream like a little girl, I would.

That would suck.

At least out here on the prairie, I just have to look down.

Tree? Unexpected, but that’s not the wrong part:

quote:

If you encounter a rattlesnake in the wild or in your yard, be careful – it’s actually illegal to kill a rattlesnake in the state of Utah.

quote:

Originally posted by jbcummings:
Tree? Unexpected, but that’s not the wrong part:

quote:

If you encounter a rattlesnake in the wild or in your yard, be careful – it’s actually illegal to kill a rattlesnake in the state of Utah.

“The only exception is if you’re threatened and you are defending yourself,” said Faith Heaton Jolley with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. “Otherwise it is a Class B misdemeanor.”

Yeah, and you can't claim it was a suicide because rattlesnakes don't do that.

As long as they stay in the trees, no problem. When the start jumping out with little parachutes, I’ll start to worry.

Rattlesnakes have always climbed trees. It's not common but not some brand new evolutionary behavior.

Rattlesnakes are (or were) federally protected. Utah law simply followed this direction. However, it is legal to kill rattlesnakes in a number of instances or situations, especially pertaining to the well-being of people, pets, and livestock.

It is not legal (or wasn't last time I checked) to just go out and hunt rattlesnakes or otherwise indiscriminately kill them.

Which is a real shame. I hate those fucking things.

At the first cold snap, do they fall out of the trees, like Miami Iguanas?

quote:

Originally posted by jbcummings:
Tree? Unexpected, but that’s not the wrong part:

quote:

If you encounter a rattlesnake in the wild or in your yard, be careful – it’s actually illegal to kill a rattlesnake in the state of Utah.

It's more illegal to get bitten. Rattlesnake Code 1128.995.a.br549 - It is a class 4 felony for a Rattlesnake, also known as, Serpentina Rattles a nosa, to bite a man, woman, child, or any combination thereof, not to exclude any type of in-between humanoid, also known as her, him, them, they, jay, ra-jay, or judy.

All violations are punishable via instant termination, no questions asked, none, nada, no how, aint gonna happen no no no.

The key to rattlesnake, and other venomous snakes' survival in these parts, is to avoid my house and yard. They are prone to die in horrible accidents around here.

Cuban Boa's will be in the trees. And hunt in packs. SO if any of you or have a relative plan a trip to GTMO, FYI. Good news is they are happy hunting banana rats and iguana's. For now....

Imagine getting prosecuted, you're sitting on the stand, and your hand is missing, because it had to be amputated after falling off from the infection.

I went bow hunting in Pennsylvania years ago. One of my group stepped on something squishy. Turned around and it was a rattler. Fortunately, it was cold out. The snake was sluggish.
I would have peed myself!

All of my rattlesnakes drowned in an unfortunate boating accident - Oops, I forgot. That is the excuse I am supposed to use for my missing guns!

Oh well, missing guns or missing rattlesnakes - any excuse is better than none. Can a rattlesnake swim??

I could see this turning into a popular shotgun sport, requires a lot less real estate than sporting clays.

I was working in Page,AZ and stopped at a sports shop to ask about short hikes along the canyon. He told me about several places and warned me about rattlesnakes. He said they could strike 1/3 of their length. If I saw a 6 foot snake he could strike 2 feet away. I replied that if I saw a 6 foot snake I would be a lot more than 2 feet away!

It's not illegal to kill rattlesnakes around here.

In fact, there are a number of towns that have a yearly Rattlesnake Hunt Festival, starting in early Spring and going into early Fall.

When I was high schooler, I would guide groups of vistors every year to find rattlers so they could catch them and enter them in the contest.
My old hometown still does that same festival every Spring.

You gotta be nuts to hunt rattlers and catch them, IMO, so I carried a 12 gauge pump.

It's pretty much fascinating and yet disgusting to see a den of rattlers, and that's all you an see in the hide, possibly hundreds all piled up on each other and squirming around.
.

The guy handling the rattler, and wearing the blood stained apron, is my Sisters Grand Daughters Husband.
Dude is an attorney, I guess he's comfortable around snakes, lol.


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When I lived back East there were plenty of stories of boaters hugging a river shoreline, mostly to stay in the shadows during a hot day, but in some cases to avoid rapids or obstacles in the middle.

There you are, lazily drifting or paddling along in your canoe, kayak, or John boat, admiring the serene landscape with thoughts of what it must have been like to be on the expedition with Lewis and Clark...when all of a sudden you have a new 'passenger' that dropped onboard from the overhanging trees.

Mostly it was black snakes, but I've heard stories of Moccasins and other venomous snakes too. I'm guessing the paddles quickly took on a new purpose.

Rattlesnake stories remind me of a childhood memory. Dad was big into bird hunting and, as a small boy, he would often take me along. I was too young and small to carry a gun so, depending on the terrain and brush, he would often leave me outside the car, to play by myself.

One trip, Dad parks at the bottom of a tight ravine, and he leaves me behind and hikes up it. After @ an hour or so I hear his shotgun blast in the distance, and I know that he'll be bringing home some dinner. @ 45 minutes after hearing the shotgun blast I see the profile of my Dad hiking out of the ravine. As he gets a little closer I see something strange and notice that he has a 'rope' hanging off his shotgun barrel, which I had never seen him do before. When he got closer I ran up to him and saw that the rope was really a rattler, which I knew we had in the area but had never seen.

Dad said that while stalking birds he took a step and suddenly heard a rattling sound. He instant stopped, but didn't know what it was and couldn't see where it was coming from. He took another step and the rattling grew louder and he spotted the rattler coiled up a couple feet away, at which point he blasted it.

We left the dead snake behind...but not before taking the rattle as a souvenir. I took it into school for show and tell, and I was the popular kid for a few minutes.

Years ago I tried some rattlesnake chili out of a can...it was pretty good.

I’ve come across rattle snakes a few times out in the wild. One time was in Utah. That was a smaller one.

Came across a huge one in WV hiking one day. He was sunning himself in the middle of the trail. Problem was there where thick bushes on each side of the trail and no way to go around. Did I mention he was huge. Me and my hiking partner looked at him for a few minutes. Took a picture and finally found a long stick and convinced him to move along.

They are interesting to see in the wild but differently not something you want to play in.