Yellow-Green Cat Snake with Nova Inventa on a trip to the Western Ghats in India, 2023.
Yellow-Green Cat Snake
Category: Snakes
Blacktailed Rattlesnake from Greenlee County, Arizona
Blacktailed Rattlesnakes can live in a wide variety of habitats, from high pine forests to low desert around sea level. This one was found in Greenlee County, Arizona several years ago.
Wandering Gartersnake
Camping and fishing along any waterway along the rim in Arizona, it’s common to see gartersnakes cruising around the vegetation. There are several species of gartersnakes in Arizona, but this may be the most commonly encountered. Wandering Gartersnakes are a subspecies of Western Terrestrial Gartersnake that inhabit a variety of habitat, though are most often spotted in shallow water going after tadpoles and small fish.
Arizona Black Rattlesnake At Its Den
An Arizona Black Rattlesnake comes out of its den for the day on a warm Spring day. This site is shared by three species of rattlesnakes, and at least a few species of other snakes. As spring egress progresses, each will use the area slightly differently, emerging, staging, and eventually distributing on their own schedules.
Cerralvo Island Rattlesnake
Cerralvo Island Rattlesnake, endemic to Isla Cerralvo in the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. This is one of a couple of rattlesnakes found on this island. This one was found near the beach where we camped.
Sonoran Whipsnake
A Sonoran Whipsnake from near Phoenix, Arizona. These fast, diurnal animals can be seen on occasion darting across trails or roads, even in the peak heat of the day. Large, forward-facing eyes and a body style made for speed mean that any lizard that ends up in its sight isn’t going to have a good day.
They show up from time to time at homes at the very edges of the city. Based on our records of snake encounters at homes over the last 16 years, they are not as good at adapting to semi-developed areas as other, similar species, like coachwhips.
A few years ago, I saw what would be the only known record of one in the Piestewa Peak preserve area. It was in the middle of the night, resting in loose rocks in front of a spot where several Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnakes were about to give birth. Sonoran Whipsnakes include rattlesnakes in their diet, and I assumed it was waiting for that opportunity. Unfortunately, I chose to slowly reach for my camera rather than dive into to rocks to grab it, and it escaped without a photo record. So, an observation went into the notes for the night’s field session, but the preserve is still without an official record.
da Frota JG, Sawaya RJ, Spina F. Masticophis bilineatus (Sonoran Whipsnake). Prey. Herpetol Rev. 2003;34(2):149. Available from: https://search.proquest.com/openview/44f1b08a1f0af1087379c71528a42f09/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=3345
Hibbitts TJ. Masticophis bilineatus. Herpetol Rev. 2023;54(1):128. Available from: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&asa=N&AN=171889940
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Warning
A Western Diamondback Rattlesnake communicating with me in the same way it does with any of the many predators that it fears. He stands up as tall as he can, hissing, rattling, and making the idea of coming any closer a decidedly bad idea.
What it isn’t doing: showing aggression. This behavior, even though it may seem scary (as it is intended to), is not a sign of “attack”, but a small animal’s best attempt at preserving its own life. For some reason, humans have a very hard time understanding this, and the incredibly simple way for everyone to leave safely: walk away. After a few photos, that’s what I did. Thanks for the heads up, snake.
Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake
An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake from the southeastern corner of Arizona. I photographed this young snake back in 2014 (that’s how behind I am in photos).
At this point, assuming she hasn’t met an end by fire, drought, bear, poacher, or any of the other ways a small snake can enter the carbon cycle, she is an older adult. She may have given birth every couple or few years, and still has a lot of life to live. Rattlesnakes can live for decades, continually learning to make better use of their environment and home range.
Blacktailed Rattlesnake At Night
A Blacktailed Rattlesnake we found on a late night hike of a canyon near Phoenix, Arizona. These are common snakes in mountainous regions, often seen by hikers. During the summer in desert areas, they are often most often nocturnal, usually encountered around sunup and just after dark. This one, fortunately, lives far from where people may come across it on accident.
Two-Striped Forest Pitviper
Peru, 2023
