So there is hope for the rest of us? Yay!
I was checking/emptying the ground squirrel traps this evening and found one had tripped with nothing in it which is a rare event. After I picked up the trap, and was resetting it a few feet away, I noticed the rattler that had probably tripped the trap as it was slowly slipping into a ground squirrel hole. A
Mohave/Mojave green rattlesnake. Not my favorite.
I have mixed feelings on that one. On the one hand I am glad to see underground predation of the ground squirrels, but on the other hand we have young calves around at the moment. Mohave green rattlesnake have a particularly deadly nerve toxin in addition to the usual haemotoxins. I think the adult human lethal dose is said to be in the 10-15mg range. I had to let this one go. I am not quick enough to get rattlesnakes by hand.
I knew a guy who was an ace at being able to grab a rattlesnake from the tail and snap it in a way that broke its neck. He had the slowest hand eye reflexes; I never understood how he learned the trick without being badly bitten. I need a tool.
All the best,
Peter