Late at night just inside New Mexico in August of 2009, my sister and I found an adult Prairie Rattlesnake, Crotalus viridis, on the side of the road. It was pissed; clearly something was wrong with it. When adjusting my head lamp it escaped into some bushes, and came back out again as fast as I’ve ever seen a rattlesnake move.
It was acting really strangely … striking into the air in different directions, all of which opposite of where we stood, watching. Then it turned and bit itself on the side. Whoa, this snake was crazed.
If you look closely, you can see a spot of blood where it had bitten itself.
While going to the car to get a different lens for my camera, the snake lunged at me, straight into the air, completely clearing the ground. This is the second rattlesnake I have encountered, ever, to “jump” like this. The snake was clearly disturbed, perhaps being crazed by a car earlier in the day and in pain.
… and one last shot with a clearer image of the facial markings of the animal. These are the larger version of the same species, Crotalus viridis, found earlier in the year in the series of posts outlining our trip to find Hopi rattlesnakes.
Tags: crotalus viridis, Field Herping, new mexico, prairie rattlesnake, Self-Inflicted Bite
