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Article: SNAKE CHARMER.(diamondback rattle snakes)
- Article from:
- National Wildlife
- Article date:
- February 1, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 National Wildlife Federation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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After two decades of studying eastern diamondback rattlers, the author finds that America's deadliest snake is surprisingly timid
Kneeling motionless on the ground, I watched as a husky eastern diamondback rattlesnake slid from my 5-gallon can into its winter home, a dark gopher tortoise burrow.
"See you soon," I whispered, expecting to recapture this and eight other rattlesnakes I had recently caught, marked and released in the open pine forests of northern Florida.
But I did not see any of the snakes again until the following winter, when they had returned to their underground refuges to hibernate. My planned study of the life history of this ...