Massachusetts hikers capture rare video of rattlesnakes fighting

By Laura Haefeli

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    MILTON, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A group of teachers hiking through the Blue Hills Reservation were shocked after spotting two rattlesnakes intertwined in the middle of the walking path.

“They were like ‘no no, stop stop look,'” said elementary school Teacher Erin Noonan who was hiking the trail. The rattlesnakes were in their path.

Erin Noonan and another Parker Elementary School Teacher, Susan Maloney, captured the moment on video.

“I’ve been hiking the Blue Hills my whole life,” Maloney said. “Never seen one in there so I was surprised.”

The two were with their fellow teachers taking their weekly walk together. “We have a little hiking club,” Noonan said. “We’re chit- chatting and we’re walking, and there were two trailing behind a little bit and they stopped and they were yelling to us.”

“Snakes! Snakes in the path,” Maloney said.

Noonan said it looked like the snakes were dancing, but according to MassWildlife, the two male timber rattlesnakes were actually fighting. The rare moment is almost never captured on video and the educators are planning to use the images to teach their kids.

“They love studying snakes and frogs, and it does lead into like OK why don’t we do a little studying about snakes? Why don’t we learn about them,” Noonan said.

Despite the rare reptile sighting, the pair was slightly concerned the captivating moment could have taken a turn for the worse.

“What if you got bit? What what are you supposed to do,” Noonan said.

What to do if you spot a rattlesnake

What do you do — or not do — if you spot a rattlesnake in the wild? MassWildlife suggests maintaining a safe distance and not disturbing the snake. But most of all, if you’re bitten, do not attempt to suck out the venom.

“That is an old wives’ tale,” said Jesse Leddick, Wildlife Assistant Director for Natural Heritage and Endangered Species.

Instead, he advised calling 911 so paramedics can take you to the closest hospital. Leddick said there are several hospitals around the state that have rattlesnake anti-venom.

Rattlesnake population dwindling

He said that spotting the rattlesnakes is rare now, but that wasn’t always the case.

“They’ve been here for thousands of years. There aren’t many of them left,” Leddick said. He also said that the population has dwindled due to habitat loss, roadway accidents and disease. The snakes were even once targets of intentional killings.

“Back in the late 1800s there were actually rattlesnake bounties,” Leddick said. The reptiles are now considered endangered in Massachusetts.

Experts say there’s only five or six rattlesnake populations left in Massachusetts, so this is a rare sighting. If you do spot a snake, contact MassWildlife or the Environmental Police for research purposes.

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