Changing how people view and treat snakes
With more surface area to their volumes than adults, newborn rattlesnakes heat and cool at faster rates. Piling into a wad reduces the amount of air-exposed skin and may blunt temperature swings. At its most efficient, cooler babies from the bottom of the wad clamber to the top to get sun and heat from their …
Is it her simple body plan? Her poker face? Or perhaps a vast mythology of her malevolence and supernatural abilities? Humans have a tough time describing what snakes do, let alone understanding why they do it. Proud skeptics that they are, scientists long doubted that snakes are capable of complex behavior. Reports of pitviper aggregations, …
This article was written by Emily Taylor, PhD, a member of the ASP Board of Directors. 2020 has been a rough year. COVID-19, unemployment, natural disasters, and cancelled travel plans have wreaked havoc on our health and psyches. Snakes haven’t been spared, either. With so many people on lockdown or out of work, there were …
To celebrate ASP’s fifth birthday, we’re sharing five inspiring stories with you — a new one each week through the end of 2019. Read them all here. Late this summer we visited one of our study sites after a near two-year absence. It was nesting season and though we saw fewer snakes than in years …
We were only able to pay a quick visit to our favorite rattlesnake nest sites in 2013, but it was a very productive trip. As always, we were greeted by familiar faces, one in particular a delightful surprise. In most snakes, we’re missing some basic information: How long do they live? How old are they …
As I reflected on my favorite snake moments of 2013, I realized we hadn’t shared the best story of all! We added Luna and Cat to our study at Muleshoe in 2012 for one reason – we wanted to observe maternal care in Arizona black rattlesnakes at our new site. Despite all we’ve seen, mother …
There’s something special about moms, right? So, today’s post is about an under-appreciated group of moms (you guessed it), Arizona Black Rattlesnakes! Human moms – you think you have it tough? Rattlesnake maternal duties may only last a couple weeks, but during that time they may have to protect their kids from extreme temperatures, a …
“To endow animals with human emotions has long been a scientific taboo. But if we do not, we risk missing something fundamental, about both animals and us.” “Science is only as good as the question, and we cannot learn the answers to questions we don’t ask.” Many scientists, in their efforts to be unbiased and …
Arizona Black Rattlesnake babies that survived their first winter. It is always a little sad to say goodbye to the Arizona Black Rattlesnake families at the end of the nesting season. It’s a difficult time for the neonates (newborns); in this population they have less than a month to find their first meal and locate …
Rattlesnakes take care of their babies. Yep, they really do. But, what does “care” look like in a snake? Do they feed their young like a mother bird? Do they keep them warm? Do they protect them from predators? With the exception of feeding, rattlesnakes care for their offspring in familiar ways. The following is …