West Virginia Wildlife from Eyewitness News

Timber Rattlers

Feared and misunderstood, rattlesnakes are fascinating reptiles.

September 9, 2009
Reporter: Patrick McMurtry
Videographer: Brad Rice

EYEWITNESS ONLINE WEBCAST VIDEO
C L I C K T O P L A Y

There's no mistaking that sound...an angry rattlesnake letting you know he's nearby.
They certainly were on this mountain. Nine of them hiding out under the rocks on this mountain.
Chuck Waggy, a biologist with the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, knows these snakes well.

"These snakes, especially the pregnant females, need sunlight. They have to have that sunlight and heat to incubate those eggs. They can't get that in the woods.
This has become a historical place, they've probably come here, who knows, for hundreds of years."

This year, they're all over.
The snakes will be giving birth to little live timber rattlers this time of year, then it's off to their winter dens. They'll hang out there until spring. Waggy explains.

"Snakes come out of their den in early April until about May 1st. They come out of the den, hang around for a while and get acclimated because they've been underground for 6-7 months. They start feeding and get a little energy."

These snakes average around four feet long and can live up to 30 years. Despite their powerful venom, these snakes are relatively docile and hard to find. They can be scary.

"The females that will be breeding that year usually go out and start feeding and go out into the deep woods, essentially you don't find them, they're very solitary creatures. The males are out running around feeding, very solitary. The females that are pregnant will go to a place like this," says Waggy.

And that's why we are here, high up on a mountain surrounded by pit vipers...bringing a little understanding to a very misunderstood animal.