2006_2198 Prairie Rattlesnake
First snake of the year! A week earlier, I found a shed snake skin in a location that has been productive in the past. Good to know they're still around, but there's nothing like a live one, fully intact, to get the adrenalin pumping. I was about three paces away when I noticed. They do blend in well.
The Prairie Rattlesnakes in my area are not aggressive; it's very difficult to get one to strike. In 20 years of photographing them, I've only been struck at once, and this was after I used my tripod to flip it off the road so that it wouldn't get run over. I now understand that the aftermath of such a manoeuvre is not the best time to try for a snake close up. Luckily, when I spotted this beauty, we were both far from the nearest road, and all was calm.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
2006_2198 Prairie Rattlesnake
First snake of the year! A week earlier, I found a shed snake skin in a location that has been productive in the past. Good to know they're still around, but there's nothing like a live one, fully intact, to get the adrenalin pumping. I was about three paces away when I noticed. They do blend in well.
The Prairie Rattlesnakes in my area are not aggressive; it's very difficult to get one to strike. In 20 years of photographing them, I've only been struck at once, and this was after I used my tripod to flip it off the road so that it wouldn't get run over. I now understand that the aftermath of such a manoeuvre is not the best time to try for a snake close up. Luckily, when I spotted this beauty, we were both far from the nearest road, and all was calm.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.