Rattlesnake with Double Fangs!
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00 I'm Coyote Peterson.
00:01 This morning we're in the Sonoran Desert
00:03 exploring the back side of Cat Mountain.
00:05 Sun's just cresting over the horizon,
00:07 which is the perfect time to find reptiles.
00:09 Let's break trail and see what we can find.
00:12 (dramatic music)
00:14 The Southwest hails as an epic backdrop for any adventure,
00:23 and there's no location more picture perfect
00:25 than the Sonoran Desert.
00:26 Today the crew and I are headed out
00:27 to capture some of this beauty,
00:29 but trust us when we say looks can be deceiving.
00:31 From the rock-strewn, ankle-twisting terrain
00:33 to the spike-covered plant life.
00:35 Ready?
00:36 Everything you come across stands to slow down
00:39 even the most ambitious adventurers.
00:41 It's only like 7.30 in the morning.
00:43 I'm already pouring sweat.
00:44 It's really important to make sure you stay hydrated
00:46 in the desert at all times.
00:48 (snow crunching)
00:50 Oh, jeez!
00:51 Hey guys, there's a snake over here!
00:53 - What?
00:53 - Jesus, Matt, no, that's--
00:54 - Careful, careful, careful.
00:57 (dramatic music)
00:59 - Where, where, where, where?
01:06 All right, watch your footing.
01:09 All right, chance to come up slow.
01:11 Oh yeah, that is a Western Dimeback Rattlesnake.
01:14 Okay, let me come to this side.
01:15 Whoa, careful, careful.
01:16 Yeah, okay.
01:17 - Be careful, he's big.
01:18 - Priority number one, guys, is safety.
01:20 I wanna get that snake outta there.
01:22 I wanna be as careful as I can.
01:24 He definitely senses that we're here now.
01:25 He's got his tongue flicking out.
01:27 He's basically sensing a couple warm body masses,
01:29 and he says, "Okay, this is not prey.
01:31 "These are potential predators."
01:34 What's really difficult about this situation
01:36 is all this loose terrain.
01:38 And the last thing I want to happen,
01:39 chance is for you to slip backwards
01:41 when I've got that snake coming out of the hole.
01:43 Okay, so I'm gonna gently work him out here.
01:45 (dramatic music)
01:48 Wow, that is a big Western Dimeback.
01:53 He's probably about four and a half, five feet long.
01:55 All right, let me kinda get him.
01:57 (dramatic music)
01:59 Wow, and he is strong.
02:00 What I'm gonna do is gently pin his head down.
02:03 That will allow me to get control of the snake.
02:05 Now, this isn't gonna injure the snake in any way,
02:07 but allow me to keep myself, you guys,
02:09 and the snake safer throughout this scene.
02:12 (dramatic music)
02:14 Okay.
02:19 (dramatic music)
02:20 All right, I'll tell you what.
02:22 Nothing makes you more nervous
02:24 than capturing a Western Dimeback rattlesnake
02:26 on the side of a rock face like that.
02:28 And there you have it.
02:29 This is the largest venomous snake that lives in Arizona.
02:34 And he is absolutely beautiful.
02:37 I wanna make sure that I have a firm,
02:40 yet gentle hold on his head.
02:42 And you can see these big puffy spots
02:44 on the back of his head there.
02:46 Those are the venom glands.
02:47 And I definitely do not wanna get tagged by this snake.
02:50 This is the second most venomous species
02:52 that lives here in the Sonoran Desert,
02:54 second only to the coral snake.
02:56 Although these guys are fairly more aggressive,
02:59 especially when provoked.
03:00 And look at those eyes.
03:02 This is a pit viper, and what that means
03:03 is they have heat-sensing pits
03:05 right in front of the nostrils.
03:06 And that's how they sense predators or prey.
03:09 The way you can tell the difference
03:10 between an Eastern Dimeback
03:11 and a Western Dimeback rattlesnake
03:13 is that a Western Dimeback has black and white banding,
03:16 and the Eastern has a black and tan banding.
03:19 And that black and white banding
03:20 has earned this snake the nickname coontail.
03:22 Now, rattlesnakes are typically ambush predators.
03:25 They'll lay in wait for a desert kangaroo rat,
03:27 maybe a lizard to come scurrying across its path,
03:29 strike out, and inject venom with those fangs.
03:32 And then what they'll do is follow that prey,
03:34 and as it begins to slow down from the venom,
03:36 then they've got their meal once they find it.
03:38 This is a very large Western Dimeback,
03:40 and I'm curious to see how long those fangs are.
03:43 And I'm sure so are you.
03:44 And this is totally fine.
03:45 I'm just gonna hold the stick out here,
03:47 gonna open up his mouth.
03:49 And there you go.
03:50 Now you got those fangs out in the open.
03:52 You come across this guy in the Sonoran Desert,
03:54 you step back and give it respect.
03:57 Does he have double fangs?
03:59 Look how he does.
04:01 Now, rattlesnakes are constantly replacing their fangs.
04:05 You can actually see he has two sets of fangs.
04:08 So one of these sets is getting ready to drop out,
04:10 and then the new set will be in place
04:12 so he can go out there and hunt for his dinner.
04:14 Pretty cool to see a rattlesnake
04:15 with a double set of fangs.
04:17 I'm gonna let those fangs back in.
04:19 The rattlesnake's fangs are just a modified set of teeth
04:22 that are hollow so that they can inject venom,
04:24 like these little hypodermic needles
04:26 filled with a mitotoxic, cytotoxic, and hemotoxic venom
04:30 that's gonna put you in some serious pain.
04:32 I'll tell you what,
04:33 come out here, you search and you search
04:35 and you search for one of these snakes.
04:37 Trying to do my own job,
04:39 and sure enough, it's Mark, director of Breaking Trail,
04:42 that comes across the Western Dimeback.
04:44 Good find, buddy, good find.
04:46 I would give you a high five right now,
04:48 but I think you need both your hands.
04:49 - Yeah, definitely need both my hands right now.
04:52 I never recommend you go out and try to capture
04:54 or handle a rattlesnake like you saw me do here today.
04:57 It's one of the most dangerous reptiles
04:59 you can come across in the Sonoran Desert,
05:01 and one of the most venomous rattlesnakes
05:03 in the United States.
05:05 I always like to make sure whenever I encounter an animal,
05:07 I put it back as close to the spot
05:09 where I found it as possible.
05:10 So I'm gonna let this guy back up into the shade here.
05:14 Alright, buddy, there you go.
05:16 What a cool encounter with the largest venomous snake
05:19 in the Sonoran Desert, the Western Dimeback.
05:22 And so cool that it had a double set of fangs.
05:24 I think I'm gonna call him Tommy Two Fang,
05:26 but why don't you guys tell me
05:27 what you think we should have named him.
05:29 I'm gonna get the heck out of the Sonoran Desert
05:30 and get into the shade.
05:32 I'm Coyote Peterson.
05:33 Be brave, stay wild.
05:36 We'll see you on the next adventure.
05:38 If you thought that was one wild adventure,
05:42 check out these other animal encounters.
05:43 And don't forget, subscribe to follow me and the crew
05:47 on this season of Breaking Trail.
05:49 This episode of Breaking Trail was brought to you by
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05:59 (electronic music)