Pics Rattlesnake Research Field Trip

[Spankenstyne]

Thought I'd share a few shots of a field trip I went on last Saturday. We were a group from our local Herp Society & were taken along to help a local Rattlesnake researcher with capturing & tagging Prairie Rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis viridis) and Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Dinosaur Provincial Park. A few shots of the scenery:

The Park bulletin board
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Sign explaining how prolific the area is for fossil hunting
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Scenery from the plain above the coulees & badlands
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The view behind the rock
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[Spankenstyne]

More scenery
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Adam (the researcher) had prepped ahead of time and the day before caught a couple of rattlers and a bull to make sure we were guaranteed to experience the process. Here's him showing and processing the little female bull:

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Closer shots of her
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[Spankenstyne]

Yours truly holding a tubed little female rattler

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj267/spankenstyne/Rattlesnake%20Research%20May%202011/rsr19.jpg

I was pretty pumped, this is the only hot we have up here in Alberta so it was pretty cool to be able to handle one and assist while he pit tagged, sexed and measured/weighed her
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[Spankenstyne]

We processed a second rattler and headed down the coulee to return them to the spot they were captured. The first rattler went right into the den but the second had no intention of doing so, even with some gentle coaxing:

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[Spankenstyne]

We then found & processed a few more rattlers and a few more bulls, including this big one I was lucky to find while the others were pre-occupied. It really made my day when they then decided to name it after me haha, so I have a tagged bullsnake out there with my name attached to it.

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Me helping Adam measure him
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[Spankenstyne]

We also found one that Adam had previously tagged last year that had a terrible wound. He said it looked 100% better than last year when he debated even tagging it, expecting that it likely wouldn't make it. He was pretty happy to see it again and that it had healed as much as it did. I can't imagine how bad it must have looked if he thought this looked markedly better and this is about a year after he first found it

Adam holding it up
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Better look at the scar
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj267/spankenstyne/Rattlesnake%20Research%20May%202011/rsr55.jpg

The weather was starting to get bad so we had to get out of the coulee or we'd be stuck in there or forced to hike several miles around just to get out as the rock & mud gets extremely slippery when it gets wet. I was hoping to get lower in and find some garters but mother nature had other plans.

We did see one wandering garter but unfortunately I wasn't able to get a pic. One of the other guys got a shot of it so I'll try to get a copy from him to post.

Anyways had a blast and hope you enjoy the pics.

[Hornets23]

Very nice. Looks like a great trip. That last snake amazes me!

[PINJOHN]

i just love it when members share their herping adventures, this one was terrific you can be sure i will be returning to it again and again as i do with the others,
many thanks Chris.

[guidofatherof5]

Looks like a great trip Chris.
You look like you where enjoying yourself. Great experience, I'm jealous:D
Working with both Rattlesnakes and Bull snake, awesome.
Thanks for posting.

[ConcinusMan]

Awesome! That's a fantastic looking big bull you got there.

[Spankenstyne]

Thanks. I'm still buzzing from this trip days later.

Here's a couple of vids one of the guys took of the second rattler.
It's almost frightening to watch the slow-mo striking one as at the time it actually looked cute as it nipped a couple of times at the tongs while Adam gently tried to coax it into the hole. The vid makes it look a lot different.

Slo-mo strikes: YouTube - Prairie Rattlesnake strikes - slow motion (http://youtu.be/VdT_W-f_lXo)

Close up defensive posture with rattling: YouTube - Prairie Rattlesnake defensive posture (http://youtu.be/XSl6iUobjnQ)

[ConcinusMan]

Cool stuff

[charles parenteau]

Very nice find !Tanks for sharing !

[Mommy2many]

Thank you very much for sharing. Some of us get no further than this foum to some of these experiences and it is always amazing to experience them thru the eyes of a forum member. Again, thank you!