Rattlesnake at the Vicksburg National Military Park

A lady walked up on a copperhead at the Park entrance a couple of weeks ago. Snake are frequently seen in the Vicksburg park. It is illegal to harm any wildlife in the National Parks. As for the monuments, snakes cuddle up next to them for the heat they give off.
 
When i was a little kid i mispronounced them as 'snattlerakes'.

They were there first, so visitors should make sure to give them the right-of-way.

Look at it as 'period authentic'.

Exactly
153 years ago to this very day Vicksburg was under assault, and the boys in blue & gray had to keep a mindful eye out for the ancestors of that snake!
 
The Vicksburg National Military Park just posted on their Facebook page a picture taken yesterday of a very large rattlesnake in the park:

https://www.facebook.com/vicksburgnmp.nps/?fref=photo



I would not want to run into that snake while touring!
I noticed on the Vicksburg Facebook page that a lady asked the question and I quote 'ok another crazy question. they wont chase you will they? I dont think that i could run fast enough to get away if they do'
Anyone would think its Jurassic Park
 
The farther you get from settled territory the more you become a potential host. Regarding snakes, though, you are obviously too big to eat so they aren't going to attack you. However, if you seem to present a threat they'll do what they've got to do. Surprising them is usually where folks go wrong: put a hand under a rock, step incorrectly over a log, waterski into a mating tangle. If you are going to be in their territory learn a few avoidance techniques (Google to the rescue).

That said, if they get into my yard then the tables are reversed and I get out the .22
 
This is quite a common site around Vicksburg
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Rattlesnakes are actually quite beneficial since their primary diet is rodents, mainly mice (and for the bigger ones) rats and gophers. They generally avoid people; just watch where you're putting hands and feet.

However, I don't intend to import rattlers for the mice that recently invaded my house and yard while I was down in Calfornia. I might end up getting a cat, though!
 
I noticed on the Vicksburg Facebook page that a lady asked the question and I quote 'ok another crazy question. they wont chase you will they? I dont think that i could run fast enough to get away if they do'
Anyone would think its Jurassic Park

Actually, in Texas we have snakes called "Coachwhips," and they will chase you. Well, if they're escaping something else and you're in the way, it looks like it! Luckily, they're nonpoisonous. As for rattlesnakes, a medium sized one can strike up to 4 feet away, so if the lady wasn't particularly mobile, she might have something to worry about.
 
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I noticed on the Vicksburg Facebook page that a lady asked the question and I quote 'ok another crazy question. they wont chase you will they? I dont think that i could run fast enough to get away if they do'
Anyone would think its Jurassic Park
Rattlesnakes won't chase you, but a Cottonmouth will. They are very territorial and I have been run out of creeks by them.
 
Several years ago, I sat down on the corner of a monument at Antietam for a break and a snake came out from under the monument and slithered across my foot. When I regained control, I headed to the Visitor's Center to regroup and when I told the Ranger about my encounter; he told me the snake's name and that it lived under the monument. He seemed more concerned about what I had done to the reptile more than what the reptile had done to me. Also, keep in mind that it is mating season and this makes them even more aggressive.
 
Several years ago, I sat down on the corner of a monument at Antietam for a break and a snake came out from under the monument and slithered across my foot. When I regained control, I headed to the Visitor's Center to regroup and when I told the Ranger about my encounter; he told me the snake's name and that it lived under the monument. He seemed more concerned about what I had done to the reptile more than what the reptile had done to me. Also, keep in mind that it is mating season and this makes them even more aggressive.

So my third glass of red wine leads me to say that I don't think mating season makes snakes more aggressive. It just means they are more on the move so as to reach out and find someone and thus more likely to find you instead. Just leave 'em be and don't put yourself where they can't see you and you'll go home with all your digits.
 
Rattlesnakes won't chase you, but a Cottonmouth will. They are very territorial and I have been run out of creeks by them.


I never again plan to be close enough to those things to worry. (Shudder!). I was traumatized as a child in the Louisiana bayous, watching the darned things plopping off branches into the water. Ewwww.
 
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