Sonoran Sidewinders can be incredibly common in the right habitat, but that doesn’t often put them in the path of homeowners in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. Of the six species of rattlesnakes that can be found at the native habitat contact zones, this species is the first to disappear whenever roads come in. They once spanned the entire Phoenix metro valley, found in the desert around the base of Camelback Mountain and as far north and east as Cave Creek and the foothills of Scottsdale. This one was found in an area that will become developed over the next decade, and this now dense population of snakes will likely disappear.
