Wow!! Lots of great information and science going one here. My knowledge about Rattlesnakes has been well streched just after one day. Last night at the welcome recepiton many of the Authors of herp books were on hand to sign books and chat with attendees.
Very interesting talks were given on the the ability of RS's to Chemosense prey after bitten and their ability to track it. They can "scent lock", in that brief instant of contact with their victim, so they can track that one mouse to consume it, even into the next day if needed. They can tell the difference between a wounded mouse, a normal mouse or one that was envenomated. I knew they were good but that's crazy!!
This afternoon there were a series of talks on how adult ground squirrels are immune to RS venom and how the squirrels get in their face and harras them till they leave. The squirrels will actually KILL smaller RS's that try and hunt in their area. These squirrles with chew up RS sheddings and allpy it to their fur to "Mask their scent".
Just some of the excellent Snake science going on in the USA. If you want to read the abstracts (summary)here is the link:
More news tomorrow...
Al
Biology of Rattlesnakes Symposium
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Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
