One problem with thinking about this stuff is, all the could be's. It could be anything or nothing or whatever. As a field guy, the report is important, that is what makes the data valuable. And reports have nothing to do with what could be. its what is.

So I can offer some of what IS. Big fella is unique in that he visits most of the sites, he does not fight with the others, and has not been observed copulating with a female. Of interest, hes the only rattlesnake to ever chase me. We often hear about those events but do not get to see them. Well, it was interesting, he burst up from being coiled under a small tree, and hissed and puffed all up and lunged and lunged and lunged. He never attempted to strike. Just lunged, once he was close(I was taking pics and laughing like crazy) He changed his behavior. He went from lunging to a high coil in striking position, while weaving his way back to his hole. If I was asked to give an opinion on what he did, it would be he burst into a threat behavior that works on other animals, like cows, coyotes, pigs etc. When he realized what I was, he retreated and would have struck if pushed. It appears(hypothetical, theoretical) hes a guard. or at least acts like one. Or not. One year, I found him with another large individual, I could not tell the gender of the other one. I have pics. ITs again, possible that was his bonded mate, and now he does not have one, so he keeps looking. Actually twice he was found with that huge mate. That was at least twenty years ago.

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