A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Crotalus horridus
I've never seen a yellow backed rattle snake. This 9 year old was very calm, between 4-5ft.
As I was walking on the Appalachian trail, I would have walked right on by if it weren't for a short rattling.
Are you aging it at 9 due to the number of buttons on its rattle? If so, that isn't accurate with rattlesnakes. They add a new button with each molt (shed), and that can take place more than once a year, especially with younger snakes. Also, they can bust them off when they become old and brittle, and then catch on things like rocks and logs. I once saw a 26 year-old eastern diamondback with only a single button after breaking off the rest of her rattle. It blew the mind of many a zoo-goer who thought that's how a rattlesnake is aged. :-D
Spotted on Jun 11, 2011
Submitted on Jun 11, 2011
