|
|
Bluebag Media
Visitors get chance
to pet Ohio timber rattlesnake
GREENVILLE – “I don’t know… I’m scared of snakes,” said the young lady
sitting next to her dad. As if to make her point, she snuggled a little
closer, partially hiding behind his arm. “We have a snake at home,” her
dad said, “but it isn’t a rattler.”
Doug Wynn, retired teacher, herpetologist and visiting OSU Scholar,
told a group of about 45 adults and children he had a relational
reality with timber rattlesnakes. He studies them while maintaining a
healthy respect for them. Wynn has been studying various snakes for
years; however he focused on the timber rattlesnake in a presentation
at Darke County Parks Jan. 17.
Afterwards he gave anyone interested an opportunity to ‘touch’ a
rattler. He took one out of a cooler he had with him, noting “it
doesn’t like me much” as he did so. He placed the snake on the floor
and waited for it to “settle down.” Then he used a snake ‘tong’ to
nudge it into a tube. The snake cooperated, moving deeply into the
tube, making a strike impossible. After that the more adventurous among
the audience gathered around and began touching the reptile’s skin.
The young lady? She stood closely by, watching. She may or may not have
participated. A little girl who earlier said she wouldn’t, tentatively
reached out and stroked the scaly skin.
Wynn said he tracks the rattlers by inserting microchip transmitters in
them; then follows them over a period of several years...
Read the rest of the article at Bluebag Media
|
|
|
|
