TUCSON CITIZEN (Arizona) 08 May 06 From desert to lab: Rattlers getting new home in Texas (Heidi Rowley)
Later today, two dozen Tucson rattlesnakes will be handed over to Texas A&M researchers.
Rural/Metro Battalion Chief Rick Flores said his agency, which responds to an average of 50 snake calls per day, was asked to save some of the rattlesnakes for the university.
Flores didn't know what kind of research was being done on the snakes. According to the Texas A&M Web site, about 10 years ago the university studied the snake's venom as a possible cure for cancer.
Texas researchers coordinated with Arizona Poison Control, which made the fire department part of the collaboration, Flores said.
So far this year the department has responded to 800 snake calls, Flores said.
Rural/Metro has two firefighters, who drive specialized trucks that respond to snake calls so firefighters are not distracted by the duty.
Rural/Metro is collaborating with Poison Control and Game & Fish on a public education packet on snakes. The packet will explain which snakes are dangerous and which are not, and what to do when a snake is encountered.
Rural/Metro is also discussing with Game & Fish where firefighters should take the snakes when they are captured.
Flores said research has shown that the farther away a snake is taken from where it was found, the lower the snake's chances for survival.
According to The Arizona Republic, several agencies in the Phoenix area are asking residents not to call 911 when they come across a snake.
"All we're going to do is put it back where it came from," said Fountain Hills Rural/Metro Fire Capt. Steve Boyer, whose units respond to as many as a dozen snake calls per day. "We're not like the Pied Piper, leading all the snakes out of town."
Rattlers getting new home in Texas