So in our last post there was one rattlesnake left that was still in his den as of 30 March. I checked on that snake this morning and am happy to report that Chris (male Arizona black rattlesnake) has emerged! He has not yet moved away from his den site, but was getting some sun on the surface.
The radio transmitters implanted in our snakes are temperature sensitive, so can estimate their body temperature when we track them. While I was tracking Chris today, his temperature increased from 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit) to 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). So I’m guessing he hadn’t been on the surface for long and was still warming up.
Wildlife activity is really picking up at the ranch! If you’d like to see more pictures and get updates of what’s happening at Muleshoe, you should ‘like us on facebook.’ Occasionally we even post pictures of something other than snakes…
