Rattle snake in Michigan.

Just saw a story about a paddling couple who fished an Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake out of a lake in Michigan. A rare and endangered species. They released him on shore.
Good for them.

I saw that, The article had great pics of the snake resting on the paddle.

Here you go – the rare eastern timber rattlesnake. A small population, just 20 minutes from my house, in the Blue Hills Reservation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5z3LD3Myvk

sing

There are some at our local nature center. Apparently they eat worms. Kudos to anyone that releases any snake. One usually won’t know if it’s an endangered species until long after the encounter and photo opportunity.

Massassuga rattlers are very common on the eastern part of Lake Huron–ie Georgian Bay… Their population is supposed to be in decline( ie threatened, not rare or endangered) but I have heard many many reports of campers seeing or being bitten by them in Ontario ( French River and Massassauga PP). Usually when someone inadvertently steps on them… They are normally a very shy snake

I gladly released one on the Edisto River. The river was high , so we paddled up an old roadbed to take a break. I stepped out of the canoe and on to a snake in 6" of water. He immediately wrapped his dark grey body around my foot.
Being the semi- herpetologist that I am, and not willing to remove my foot, I did a quick analysis. The body had purple and yellow stripes running longitudinally so I knew it wasn’t a cottonmouth.
I moved my foot and he was gone.
Someone got a photo of him so we Id’d him as a Rainbow Snake.
Fairly rare and reclusive. They eat eels.
I’d been boating on that river since childhood but had no idea they existed.

More of the story here:

https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2019/05/rare-rattlesnake-floats-with-kayakers-in-michigan-lake.html

I would have just kept paddling by.

@Rookie said:
More of the story here:

https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2019/05/rare-rattlesnake-floats-with-kayakers-in-michigan-lake.html

I would have just kept paddling by.

Me too.

Jodie never sleeps 'cause there are always needles in the hay.
She says that a girl needs a gun these days,
“Hey on account of all the rattlesnakes.”

Not sure after all these years, Mr. Cole, if Jodie’s heart has come to stay in San Jose, but she’s likely holding back on Michigan.

After all these years for myself, this thread led to re-investigation of these Menacing-Mouth-Mated-To-a-Maraca fellas. Eastern-Western Diamondback, Timber, Sidewinder, Cane Break, Pygmy - these I had heard of. But, BAMM:

http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/11-North-American-Rattlesnakes/

From Massasauga to Mojave( the latter NEURO-toxic, yikes!), whole lotta shakin’ go’n on!

poor snake… It did not ask to be scooped up.

@kayamedic said:
Massassuga rattlers are very common on the eastern part of Lake Huron–ie Georgian Bay… Their population is supposed to be in decline( ie threatened, not rare or endangered) but I have heard many many reports of campers seeing or being bitten by them in Ontario ( French River and Massassauga PP). Usually when someone inadvertently steps on them… They are normally a very shy snake

rare is not a legal term, but threatened is usally rare…it means they are heading toward endangered if populations continue to decline. It means they are “rare” enough to need protection