After 10 hours of hard hiking and searching in the June heat, I found my target: the Arizona Black Rattlesnake, Crotalus cerberus. This is only the third I’ve ever seen, and the darkest coloration of my experience with them.
Here it is as it was found, sleeping in a rock cut
I left to search further into the canyon, but found nothing. On the way out, as the sun had just gone over the edge of the mountains, I found the same snake in a different location, about 100 feet from the original hideout. It was sleeping in the middle of the wash. I was able to once again sneak a few photos without disturbing the animal, and left without it even knowing I had found it both times.
Tags: arizona, Arizona Black Rattlesnake, Arizona snakes, bryan d. hughes, Crotalus cerberus, Field Herping, field herping arizona, Photography, rattlesnakes, snake, snakes, Yavapai County
I sure like your photographs.
You have to have patience whit my english. Iám a guy in sweden how keeps reptiles and have done that since i was 17 years old. Today iám 35 years. I have a friend how has been to Arizona a few times and have seen alot of his photographs too. And i sure hope i can come and see the nature and all the beautiful animals. I keep a some species from the area. but its not the same as seeing them in nature.
Nice find. I’ll be headed out August 4th to hopefully find my first AZ Black.
Awesome. Good luck. Where in Yavapai County do you live?