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Article: Once-pursued rattlesnakes protected; Timber rattlers once thrived in the hills and bluffs of southeastern Minnesota. Now the state has stepped in to stop the loss of the reptiles and their habitat.(NEWS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- August 17, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Star Tribune Co. 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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For decades there was a bounty on its reptilian head, and it was hunted throughout its rocky, brushy haunts in southeastern Minnesota.
Now, however, the timber rattlesnake is far less common there, paying bounties for dead snakes is banned, and recently the creature was classified as a "threatened" species in Minnesota. That means it's now illegal to take, import, transport or sell any portion of a timber rattler without the approval of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). And while that bodes well for the snake's future, it isn't out of the woods yet.
"There may be fewer than 100 locations where the timber rattlesnake survives in ...