Well Howard, the Eastern diamondback rattler is a very shy snake and
that's very good since they are all over FL and they can get to be six
to seven feet long and at that size they are about as big around as the
CA governor's biceps.
When I've been out on horseback I've seen in the last 10 years two and
they wanted nothing whatsoever to do with me - which is good. But just
be aware that in FL in the woods one is not far from you at any time.
The Eastern diamondback does seem to have some fairly aggressive
cousins ( hey I watch the Discovery channel from time to time ) and the
ones in the southern CA desert seem to be some of the more aggressive.
Now Eastern Tennessee has the Timber Rattler - pretty much keeps to
himself away from people and the copperhead. The copperhead really
likes people and likes to stay around where people are. Likes to live
under sheads, around barns, around house foundations, etc. Not a good
mix. I wouldn't kill a rattler in the east unless it was me or him. But
a copperhead I'd take out in a heartbeat - especially if he was where
he should not be.
Truman
Howard Bramhall wrote:
I agree, I agree (I
feel that I've entered "Bizarro-world," an alternate universe from
Superman Comics, anytime I agree with Heidi). The only good poisonous
snake is a dead poisonous snake. The one creature nastier than the
snake is the rat. I'm glad that the snake kills the rat and then I
kill the snake. Sounds like the natural order of things to me. Then,
of course, the horse kills me, and nature remains in balance.
At the Big South Fork ride last September I remember this Ranger fellow
named Officer Justice (I'm not making that up) giving us all a talk on
the critters that live and breathe in that area. He then went on
discussing the snakes. Told us it was against the law to kill them
within the park boundaries. Not allowed to kill snakes, even poisonous
ones, in that part of Tennessee. I'm sure Florida has some silly law
like that also.
Might as well protect the rocks next. Save a rock. They're
endangered. Not too many active volcanoes any more making them, so, we
gotta save as many as we possibly can. It's agains the law to break
them, throw them or to make walls out of them.
Some laws were made to be broken. Killing poisonous snakes is one of
those laws.
-- We imitate our masters only because we are not yet masters
ourselves,
and only
We
imitate our masters
only because we are not yet masters ourselves, and only
because
in doing so we
learn the truth about what cannot be imitated.
