A pair of Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnakes aestivating near a hotel, taking advantage of some unintentional free water. They were released to carefully selected microhabitat which offers similar conditions. In the summer, snakes like this would quickly die if released to random desert locations.
Aestivation (pronounced /ˌes.təˈveɪ.ʃən/ or /ˌēs-tə-ˈvā-shən/) A state of dormancy or metabolic inactivity that certain animals enter during hot or dry seasons, especially in the summer, as a survival strategy to conserve energy and reduce water loss when conditions are harsh.
