endangered animals

The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake ( Crotalus adamanteus ) is an endangered animal (reptile) found in the Eastern part of the United States. The Eastern diamondback is the largest rattlesnake in the world. It is also one of the most highly venomous of snakes in the world. Its bite can be fatal. It is mostly endangered because people do not understand that rattlesnakes are very important to the environment and are scared of them and kill them as soon as they find them. Snakes are so important to the food chain and the balance of ecosystems everywhere. Another problem is that their habitat is in danger. They need places to hide from the sun and so they use dens that are made by animals like the gopher tortoise. The gopher tortoise is also an endangered animal. So, when the gopher tortoise disappears, their dens will disappear, and then the rattlesnake has no good places to go to hide and then they can and will die off also. So, it is very important that we take care not to hurt the gopher tortoise as well as the diamondback rattlesnake.
Diamondback Rattlesnakes are part of the pit viper family of snakes. These kind of snakes have sensory pits on each side of the head (which look like an extra set of nostrils) that detect heat of their prey day or night. The poisonous snakes have spade-shaped heads and according to Snakes of Indiana: http://herps.ipfw.edu/center/accounts/snakes/hcsnakes.htm
the pupils of Indiana venomous snakes are vertical slits instead of round. It has a heavy body with diamond shapes on its skin. It has been known to grow up to eight feet long. It rattles its tail when it feels cornered or in danger to ward off enemies. Some of them though will wait until the intruder is right on top of it before it rattles its tail!
Ok, something to think about when you decide to study snakes: Do not catch a snake and do not handle one unless you are sure it is not poisonous. Like in the old saying...you are better off safe than sorry. Even a snake that appears dead may still have reflexes that work and can still bite. If you find a snake and you do not know whether it is poisonous or not, the best and safest thing to do is to just leave it alone.

References:

A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America, 3rd ed. , Houghton Mifflin (Boston/New York), xx + 450 p. , Conant,R. & Collins,J.T. copyright 1991

The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians by John L. Behler and F. Wayne King.- Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 720 p. copyright 1979.

Snakes of Eastern North America by K. Ernst and R. Barbour- George Mason University Press, Fairfax, Virginia. copyright 1989.

Photo from: Jon Loman, Dept. of Animal Ecology, Lund, Sweden - see his many animal photos at: http://www.biol.lu.se/zooekologi/jon/herpbild/herpbild.htm

Dutch

Written by: Nathan

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