Strange find

[GaH2Os]

Yesterday I was exploring in the south Altamaha in my 13' river hawk when I came upon a bit of high ground surrounded by marsh. It looked like a good place to locate some hogs for next bow season so I took a look around. After about an hour of poking around I cam up on what looked like a blue teeshirt laying under some small trees. When I saw the knot tied in the end of the cloth bag I just knew what was inside. I was right. A 4.5' eastern diamonback. There were no other tracks on the sandy island since the rain several days ago. Whether the bag was lost ,stashed,or what I have no idea. I took several pictures and sent the snake on her way. This is a good snake story-the snake lived.

 

[predator]

snake story

That is a good story most people would have killed the snake, we need them more than we think.

 

[Gaswamp]

glad to hear a good snake story

 

[dawg2]

Good for you. Glad you realized what it was before messing with it.

 

[FERAL ONE]

way to go !!! i look for snakes all the time to take their pictures but have very little luck. this would have been a great find !!!

 

[Al33]

Good to read someone else doesn't kill snakes just because they're snakes.

 

[Auchumpkee Creek Assassin]

wow

 

[Rich Kaminski]

OK, someone please explain the benefit of an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake to me. They eat rodents, squirrels, frogs, etc. What else do they do besides potentially bite people?
What is the benefit?
Do they kill coyotes or bobcats?
Come on, change my mind about poisonious snakes. I dare you!

 

[dawg2]

OK, someone please explain the benefit of an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake to me. They eat rodents, squirrels, frogs, etc. What else do they do besides potentially bite people?
What is the benefit?
Do they kill coyotes or bobcats?
Come on, change my mind about poisonious snakes. I dare you!

How many times have you been bitten?

 

[Handgunner]

How many times have you been bitten?

 

[12gamag]

If I see a venomuos snake around my farm he is dead...
If I see a venomous snake when I coon hunting or bowhunting he is dead......
been bit once myself... had my coon dogs, foxhounds and hog dogs bit dozens of times. they killed a couple of really good dogs.


As for the rat population.....the barn cats on my place keep it under control

 

[rjcruiser]

I second the fact that this is a bad snake story....the only poisonous snake that I like is a dead one.

 

[Randy]

The Bible says we are suppose to hate snakes and that is good enough for me.

 

[shaggybill]

The Bible says we are suppose to hate snakes and that is good enough for me.

That's a joke, right?

That's quite an odd discovery, GaH2Os. Maybe somebody collected him for a round-up and left him there to pick up later. Good on ya for letting him live.

 

[Randy]

That's a joke, right?.

Nope.

 

[Doc_Holliday23]

Genesis 3:15, God speaking to Satan the serpent.

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

 

[bulletproof1510]

Dead snake

 

[germag]

OK, someone please explain the benefit of an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake to me. They eat rodents, squirrels, frogs, etc. What else do they do besides potentially bite people?
What is the benefit?
Do they kill coyotes or bobcats?
Come on, change my mind about poisonious snakes. I dare you!

Well, first off, a squirrel is a rodent. Secondly, Eastern Diamondbacks aren't overly fond of frogs. Third, you're less likely to be bitten by an Eastern Diamondback than you are to be struck by lightening. In fact, about 7,000 people are bitten in the United States annually by all venomous snake species combined (including captive exotics)....only about 10 die (about half of those deaths are attributed to Eastern Diamondbacks). By contrast, about 100 die every year in the U.S. from lightening strikes and another 100 or so from bee and other insect stings. Of the total venomous snakebites that occur in the U.S., the vast majority of the victims are people that are either keeping the snakes in captivity or were in the process of catching, handling, or killing the snake in the wild. Accidental and "unprovoked" snakebite in the wild is (comparatively) extremely rare.

"Do they kill coyotes or bobcats?" Well, they could....I suppose it occasionally happens...but what does that have to do with anything? You already sort of answed your own question. They help keep the populations of rodents and rabbits (not a rodent) under control.

Realistically, I wouldn't even waste my time trying to change your mind...there's no point in it. Sometimes folks have these preconceived notions, not really based on any fact or logic....and the attitude is "Don't bother me with facts, my mind is made up." I won't waste my breath.

BTW....Eastern Diamondbacks are not "poisonous". You can eat all of them you want and you won't die from it. They are venomous. If they bite you, you may be envenomated. There is a difference.

 

[germag]

The Bible says we are suppose to hate snakes and that is good enough for me.

As far as the religious aspects...well, I am a man of faith. I believe in God. And, I have heard many, many times the scripture being used to justify the wanton destruction of snakes, venomous or not....but you have to bear in mind that the scripture has also been twisted and used on many occasions to justify the killing of whole populations of people too. And...on the other side of that coin, there are churches in the northern part of this state that use venomous snakes in their Christian worship. It's all a matter of interpretation, isn't it?

 

[germag]

Yesterday I was exploring in the south Altamaha in my 13' river hawk when I came upon a bit of high ground surrounded by marsh. It looked like a good place to locate some hogs for next bow season so I took a look around. After about an hour of poking around I cam up on what looked like a blue teeshirt laying under some small trees. When I saw the knot tied in the end of the cloth bag I just knew what was inside. I was right. A 4.5' eastern diamonback. There were no other tracks on the sandy island since the rain several days ago. Whether the bag was lost ,stashed,or what I have no idea. I took several pictures and sent the snake on her way. This is a good snake story-the snake lived.

Good job. Obviously someone was collecting snakes for some purpose. There's actually a pretty big demand in the black market for gently collected wild-caught Eastern Diamondbacks. If they've been gassed (from a gopher tortoise burrow) or pinned, they rarely survive. The gas is very damaging to their lungs. If they have been pinned, they almost never will feed in captivity. If they have been gently collected without pinning, they typically (in my experience) do well in captivity. However, selling them is really illegal in Georgia. Gassing gopher tortoise burrows is also illegal, but it's a law that doesn't really seem to be enforced. Gassing usually kills the gopher tortoise (a protected species) in the burrow, as well as gopher frogs (an Endangered species) and several other symbiotic species (species that share the burrow habitat).