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CBS4 (Denver, Colorado) 24 September 05 Researchers Study Rattlesnakes With Large Antenna
Boulder, Colo.: Two men are on a mission to track and study rattlesnakes in Colorado. But it's not easy. So they're using small radio transmitters and their large antenna and receiver.
The distinct sound of a rattlesnake is something most people don't want to hear.
"Even if you have never heard it before, you know what it is," says Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald, a veterinarian.
According to the American International Rattlesnake Museum, the animals bite about 8,000 people each year. An average of 12 per year, less than 1%, result in death. The Museum says far more people die each year from bee stings, lightning strikes, or almost any other reason. One-third of all rattlesnake bites are "dry" bites, when no venom has been injected.
Fitzgerald and Bryon Shipley track rattlesnakes across prairie land in Colorado. They want to lean more about the animals' lives.
"Somebody has to love them," says Shipley.
The pair wants to know things like how long the snakes live, how many babies do they have, where do they hibernate, how far do they migrate, what do they eat, and what's eating them.
"This is the best kind of gee whiz biology," Fitzgerald says.
The Rattlesnake Museum says the animal's role as an important link in the food web far outweighs its potential danger to our well being. In fact, rodent born diseases are probably controlled to a great extent by rattlesnakes and other predators. Offer them respect, observe them from a safe distance, and then leave them to perform their valuable ecological function.
Shipley and Fitzgerald's project all starts back in the operating room. Fitzgerald implants a tiny radio transmitter into the snakes. It has a 13 inch antenna stretching through the snakes' bodies.
"This is not something you should try at home," Fitzgerald says.
The transmitter doesn't slow down the snake, or make it a target for predators.
The advantage is the transmitter narrows down the search area for researchers.
What do people already know about rattlesnakes? Their rattle is skin similar to a person's nails. And rattling is their way of making themselves look and sound scary.
"Ten percent substance, 90 percent bluff," Fitzgerald says.
"They have quite a smorgasbord of prey items that they like to have," Shipley says.
Fitzgerald says people should always give rattlesnakes a wide berth. Their venom can be dangerous.
The researchers hope what they learn will guarantee the snakes will continue to share the planet.
"The enemy of the snake is progress and destruction of habitat," Fitzgerald says. "But progress is inevitable, so if we can do it smart, if we can find out about the snakes -- how much space do they need, so we can set aside areas where people can always go and see them in their natural habitat."
Researchers Study Rattlesnakes With Large Antenna
