Rattlesnakes: How common are they in the higher elevations?

[cpowell]

Hi everyone,

Forgive me if this topic has already been discussed, but there doesn't seem to be a search function on this forum...

I've read several interesting articles published recently (see links below) that examine the especially dangerous venom properties of the San Jacinto variety of the Southern Pacific Rattlesnake - one article even compares the bite of San Jacinto area Southern Pacific Rattler to a cobra bite.

My question: How common are these serpents in the higher elevations? Has anyone seen them along Devil's Slide? At Strawberry Junction? Round Valley ...near the summit?


Article 1
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatrepti ... crPioHn_qA

Article 2
http://anzavalleyoutlook.com/local/loca ... heir-bite/

Article 3
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24463169

Article 4
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com ... nt-venoms/

[Florian]

My question: How common are these serpents in the higher elevations? Has anyone seen them along Devil's Slide? At Strawberry Junction? Round Valley ...near the summit?

There is one at the Tahquitz Peak fire lookout at 8800'. Also along the PCT north of Saddle Junction i've seen one multiple times in the same spot. Personally i've never seen one anywhere between the tram and SJ summit.

-Florian

[Ulysses]

I asked this same question of a biologist for the Forest Service and was told that they can be found everywhere on the mountain. Even above 10K. Pretty amazing creatures when you think about how they can survive 6+ months of hibernation at such cold temps.

[neverwashasbeen]

I consider them very rare, I've seen one at Suicide Rock, that's the only one I've seen since 1975.

[lkelly]

I have seen one on the Tahquitz valley trail and 2 doing a cool dance on the Devils Slide on the scree slope just past the first switchback.

[cynthia23]

I saw a huge one above Strawberry Junction, but that was eight or nine years ago. Since the drought there seem to be many fewer of them.

[SoCalJim]

I've never seen one in the San Jacinto range, but then I don't get up there as often as I'd like... After living in SoCal for four decades, my general impression is that they're most common below 6,000 feet. BTW, a reliable source on one of the Mt. Whitney message boards posted that he'd seen one at 11K in the Sierra, much to his surprise. And mine.

[tekewin]

I recently was wondering the same thing and found a discussion on the San Gabriel forum here:
http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/a ... attlesnake

Personally, the highest I've seen one is 8800' on Gorgonio. All the rest were at 6000' and below. I've made four trips to the San Jacinto mountains and never seen one. I've also never seen one in the Sierras, but I've only been there a couple of times.

The state claims they can be found over 10000'. I think it would generally be too cold for them to "make a living" there, but there are always exceptions.

[Anni8]

We came across one just yesterday (8/15/15) up PCT right before you get to Devil's Slide. It was a black diamond just slithering across the trail. We were about 15 people and the organizer was very calm about it and made sure we were kept safe.

[guest]

Hi,

I'm in the San Jacintos weekly, and have only seen rattlers on Skyline around 7k, and I think they we're Speckled, not So Pacific, (but that's the eastern side, compared to Idy.

A couple take-aways I got from this:

Is Crofab, (the main anti-venom used today), effective with the Idy So Pacific snake's nero-toxin, (doesn't sound like it).
Apparently there isn't any available in Idy, (at least not when the article was written), as it's very expensive, ($3k / vial?, ouch, & has a shelf life).

It now seems this snake may have more potent venom than even the feared Mojave green, (although one article mentioned you are 10 times more likely to die if bitten in Cochise Co than Pima in AZ.), so sometime similar may have happened there.

Any, those darn snakes must be really smart, (& have an amazing ability to change the chemical make-up of their venom). The speculation is the Idy ones live in an area where their bitten prey can sneak into crevices & such, making in necessary for more fast-acting venom, (they can relocate their prey through heat sensing).

Yet another good reason for dogs to be on leashes in areas where their allowed, (and maybe take it to snake training class).

I have observed several on my property, (between Palm Springs & Cabazon) removing a few if needed, but never killing, (& we don't have an over abundance of rodents, although coyotes, fox & ferrel cats help with that). If I had small kids, I might take more drastic measures.

Just like with many pesticides, (even certain gmo's), nature finds a way to evolve.

ss