Timber Rattlesnakes

Last night I went to the historical center for a lecture on timber rattlesnakes which are present in the southeastern corner of the states including here in Winona. The talk was given by Stephen Winter who works for the U.S. Fish And Wildlife (when the government isn't shut down). He is not allowed to work or talk about volunteering at work but since he volunteers when he is off work he can talk about his work with timber rattlesnakes. When off work and he gets a call, he will go to a home owner's house and safely remove the timber rattlesnake and take it to a safe place. The safe place has to be within a half mile other wise the snake won't get back to it's winter den. The snakes come in two phases; the yellow phase and the black phase. The snakes don't change color. If they're born yellow they stay yellow. If born black they stay black. He collects up to 20 snakes some summers. Most of the calls come in July. The earliest is May and the latest calls are in October. Timber rattle snakes are not aggressive. The number of rattles indicate how many times the snake has shed it's skin. Sometimes the rattles can be broken off. He does not get paid for this work. His reward is seeing a timber rattlesnake. If bitten by a timber rattlesnake the pain is horrendous. Medical advice includes laying down, calling 911 for help and keep the bite lower than the rest of your body. Try to remain calm and keep your heart rate low. All of the snakes he has collected here in Winona have been up on the goat prairie on the right side of Garven Heights road. Up until 1989 there was a bounty on timber rattlesnakes. Rattlesnake hunters could go to a den in the spring or the fall and kill they as they left or returned to the den. That is why there are so few left.