An Invasive Irritation
We first met Willie, a Black-tailed Rattlesnake, in June 2012, hunting on a massive downed Cottonwood Tree. We didn’t handle or mark him, but Jeff got excellent photographs. Black-tailed Rattlesnakes have unique head patterns that can be used to identify individuals and Willie also has two blotches on his back that are connected. Last May we ran into him again, hunting against an ancient Cottonwood Tree. Those blotches caught our eyes and we soon matched that head pattern to our friend from 11 years ago. Willie was a large adult in 2012, so he’s likely in his 20s now, at least! Willie was in excellent condition last May, which made us wonder: how many other decades-old rattlesnakes have we met?
We didn’t actually name Willie when we first met in 2012. But in 2023, once we realized who he was — a tough, but sweet, old man — we named him after Willie Nelson, who had recently celebrated his 90th birthday. Perhaps our Willie is 90 in snake-years? I am not sure, but he is certainly older than most folks realize snakes can live. He is not unique in this, and it may not even be uncommon for snakes to live decades. It is difficult to tell a snake’s age if you haven’t been following them since they were very young.
We were so excited to see Willie in 2023. It had been more than nine years since we set foot on this site, and while we were hoping to see some old friends, we weren’t really expecting to. Crossing paths with Willie seemed like a rare gift. But he was actually the first of several rattlesnakes and Gila Monsters that we’d run into that year who we last saw in 2012 or 2013. And most of them we’ve seen several more times since, especially Willie and one of the Gila Monsters, Turtle.
Willie spent most of last summer (2024) near our house, so we got to see him often. Mostly he was coiled and resting or hunting, but once we got to watch him court CPG, a small female Black-tailed Rattlesnake, who also lives near our house.
In June he ran into a bit of trouble. He managed to get a Red Brome seed stuck in one of his nostrils! Red Brome is an invasive species of grass in the Southwest. It grows quickly, out-competing native grasses, and increases fire potential and intensity. In addition to degrading habitat by decreasing plant diversity and increasing catastrophic wildfire risk, Red Brome harms wildlife with their sharp seeds that easily stick to animals: in mammal ears and apparently, snake nostrils. They are hard to remove for someone with hands, so it must be impossible for someone without hands or feet — right?
Not long after we noticed the stuck seed, Willie started preparing to shed his skin: his eyes turned cloudy and blue, his whole body took on a dull appearance, and he hunkered down in an old pipe where he’d be safe for the next week or so. We checked on him daily, wondering if he’d shed that seed along with his skin.
One day Jeff checked the pipe to find Willie gone, his shed skin cast off, the seed still embedded within it. What a relief Willie must have felt; not only casting off his old, tight skin, but also this invasive irritation.
We’ve already seen Willie a few times this year (2025). So far, no more Red Brome or other seeds stuck up his nose.
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