[at-l] Snakes

[baltjack@hotmail.com (Jack Tarlin)]

To Hal:

 
{nbsp;{nbsp}{nbsp}{nbsp} Yeah, someone was bitten at Mohican last summer----I missed it by a day and got details from the staff.{nbsp} I dunno about an hour, but it is evident that the idiot in question was playing with/teasing the rattler in order to impress some friends} the snake re-acted in a perfectly fitting, proper, and un-surprising manner.
 
{nbsp;{nbsp}{nbsp} People do stupid things with snakes all the time} one hiker last year reportedly picked up a rattler and packed him some miles in order to play a practical joke on his friends.  Some joke!  In addition to being needlessly cruel, it probably resulted in the death of the poor snake, as rattlers are extremely territorial and seldom venture farther than a mile or two from where they were born.  Moving them to unknown terrain will most likely kill them, or at least make it very difficult for them to hunt and survive.
 
   Bear Bag's comments were right on the money----most folks who get bitten by poisonous snakes in this country bring it on themselves.  Your chances of being bitten on or near the AT by a venomous snake you merely happen to come across while hiking are extraordinarily remote.  You have a better chance by far of being struck by lightning or winning the lottery.


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