Sleepless in Midland

Snakes everywhere

Heavy rains cause snake movement, and people in areas that have received a lot of rainfall are seeing more snakes. It's always newsworthy when a snake slithers into a space it doesn't belong, and this story about a fellow in Oklahoma finding a snake in his dryer vent certainly got people's attention. Here's a link to a news report.

Snakebites may not be a big problem in the U.S., but they are in some parts of the world. WHO says this:

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 5 million snakebites occur each year, resulting in up to 2.7 million envenomings. Published reports suggest that between 81,000 and 138,000 deaths occur each year. Snakebite envenoming causes as many as 400,000 amputations and other permanent disabilities.

Wait a sec. Did I say they weren't a big problem in the U.S.? Police find stowaway snake on underside of patrol vehicle.

Can't get enough? Check out the video at Doorbell camera captures snake strike on visitor's head. Ouch!

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1:45 PM 5/27/2019

Not what you want to see in the toilet

I installed a new toilet the other day, and after removing the old one there was this black hole in the floor inviting me to look down into it. It's impossible to resist, like not looking at a train wreck.

It looked pretty nasty. And I don't feel any better now after reading this -- there's no way to sugar coat it: Python in toilet bites Thai man on penis. Click for pics.

The desert snakes we have in West Texas don't go in for swimming. Thanks goodness!

Why did the snake cross the road?

We'll never know. He didn't make it.

This is something you don't see every day. These pics were snapped on the side of a bank building on busy Andrews Highway in Midland, Texas, this morning.

Someone must have called the cops on a snake carcass on the road. And the friendly man in blue put it in a body bag. A police officer's job must be full of variety.

Maybe a herpetologist can tell us what brand of snake this was.

Snakes in the chair

Here's a good joke to play on a friend.

Dude said he was sitting in a chair a friend gave him. He got up to go to the can, got back and discovered a boa constrictor. Happened in Richmond, Virginia. UPI.

Apparently the snake was coiled in the chair springs. The cops took the snake back to the owner, and they probably gave each other a big hug.

So did the owner even know the shake was missing?

Snake under the hood

Here's your problem. That constrictor on your engine belongs in a zoo.

Snakes are everywhere. Just the other day we had a cobra escaping from the Bronx Zoo. Then there was an escaped snake warning note left on a door in Sweden.

Now this. It may be in Brazil, but it's hard to say. It's a sight to behold as animal control workers tinker under the hood then like a magician’s trick, pull out a very large snake. Watch it on Youtube.

Via Newslite.tv.

The great snake escape (part 2)

Snakes seem to be escaping everywhere. It was only last week that people were hissing over the cobra that escaped from the Bronx Zoo. But the cobra was recaptured, and everyone is having a good laugh over it. Even the snake got in on the fun.

Now we learn of a possible snake escape in Malmö, Sweden. The snake in question is described as follows:

"The Inland Taipan, also known as the Small Scaled Snake, is native to Australia and is known as one of the world's most poisonous snakes."

How it got to Sweden is a mystery. And the whole thing could be an April fool's joke, because the only evidence was a note left in the entryway of a building warning that the snake had escaped. Maybe the "snake scare" is the new "bomb scare" -- scaled down (groan) to avoid terrorist type penalties.

If it is a joke, the building tenants are not laughing, at least not yet. But just wait. They'll be whooping it up once the snake starts twittering.

Couldn't find their own asp

Lost: 20 inch poisonous cobra in the vicinity of the reptile house at the Bronx Zoo. If found, please notify zoo keeper.

Via AOLnews.com.

There are some things ya just don't wanna lose.

Updated 3/31/11: Found!

Breheny said the zoo is evaluating its protocols to make sure the snake doesn't escape again. Zoo officials hope to reopen the reptile house next week.

Rattlesnakes not rattling?

There's something quaint about a rattlesnake's rattle. The little guy is sending a message. "You chaps are invading my personal space, and I would very much appreciate it if we could part company without hurting each other. Deal?"

Maybe there are others killers in nature that provide a personal warning, but not many.

So all of this is leading up to an interesting phenomenon that some people are observing. A rancher friend forwarded an email with the subject: "Rattlers not Rattling this year---important information." What followed were reports about several encounters with rattlesnakes where the snakes didn't rattle. The theory is that they've learned that the noise they make is as likely to bring them harm as it is to scare away a predator. If it's true, it's not exactly evolution, but it's an interesting environmental adaption. Anyway, here it is reproduced with permission and slight editing:

Subject: Rattlers not Rattling this year---important information
We killed 2 rattle snakes at our dove lease 5 miles South of Midland City limit and the snakes DID NOT rattle. In fact one snake literally went over xxxxxxxxxx,s boots while he was dove hunting. ERAM

I will confirm I have killed a couple of snakes at the lake and Ibex this year and let others go and not one rattled. I poked at one in the Fandangle with a stick before I killed him and despite striking repeatedly at the stick he never made a sound. I thought something was wrong with him before he nearly knocked the stick out of my hand.

Subject: Rattlers not rattling!
My fellow friends and family,
We have killed 57 rattlesnakes on two separate ranches this year. Twenty-four (24) at South Bend & thirty-three (3) at Murray , since mid-May. Not one has buzzed! We provoked one fair sized boy with a stick and he coiled & struck at the stick a couple of times before he buzzed up and rattled. The purpose of this explanation is that I have been hearing the same from fellow ranchers and hunters in regards to the lack of warning with rattlesnakes.

I had lunch with a friend today and he offered a theory about the fact that these dudes aren't rattling anymore. He raised pigs for years and reported that when he would hear a rattlesnake buzzing in the sow pen, the sows would bee line to it and fight over the snake. For the uninformed, pigs love to eat rattlesnakes. Therefore, the theory is they are ceasing to rattle to avoid detection, since there are plenty of pigs roaming the countryside. I have a neighbor ranching lady who was bitten 3 weeks ago, twice by the same snake without any warning ... She spent 5 days in ICU, after 22 vials of anti-venom she is back at the ranch and still may lose her foot or worse yet her lower leg.

The days of perceived warnings are over. Keep your boots on and use a light when out and about. As you all know, one can pop up just about anywhere! You may wish to forward this to anyone that would be interested.

So there you have it. Thanks, JB.

Big Spring Rattlesnake Roundup -- 3/27/10

This weekend the annual Big Spring Rattlesnake Roundup is taking place. Compared with the recent annual roundup in Sweetwater, this one is a much smaller festival. There is nothing wrong with the one in Sweetwater, but it is so famous that it attracts thousands of visitors. And at peak hours it's hard to maneuver for a good spot in the crowd. No problem in Big Spring.

Snake charmer and rattlesnake showman extraordinaire, Jackie "The Texas Snake Man" Bibby, was the show stopper last year, but he wasn't present this time. They said he was in Italy, however Brownwoodnews.com spotted him in Brownwood, Texas, last weekend.

The Big Spring show was a thrill nonetheless. Plenty of close-in parking, no big crowds to block the view, plenty of refreshments, and freeze dried rattlesnakes available for purchase. How long do those things last, I wondered. "Keep them is a dry spot," I was told by a vendor, because moisture can seep in and cause them to deteriorate. "If they are kept in a dry place they'll last a long, long time."

And most importantly, there were lots and lots of live deadly rattlesnakes, all safely secured behind barricades, and an entertaining group of showmen and women defied death as they demonstrated their fearlessness.  And now, some photos:

Previously:
Rattlesnake fest in Sweetwater;
Rattlesnake Roundup in Big Spring;
Head em up, Move em out - the Rattlesnake Roundup; and
Rattlesnake meat. It tastes like ....

Rattlesnake fest in Sweetwater

The 51st annual Rattlesnake Roundup kicked off this weekend in Sweetwater, Texas. And the slithering, scaly snakes filled the pens. It's unnerving to see a rattler coil for a strike even from a safe distance behind a wood fence. But the brave handlers would stride amongst them.

The snake handlers used hooks to scoop them up. And once they were placed on a table the snakes knew they couldn't get enough traction for a long strike, but that didn't stop one aggressive snake from bursting a balloon dangling just a short strike away.

Caution: If rattlesnakes give you the heebee jeebees, then do not click on these thumbnails!  That said, the snake Ms. Ranchito is holding is a non-poisonous Bull Snake.

They say the snake's venom is for subduing its next meal. And a big old snake would strike a human only in self defense and wouldn't inject much venom, because the human is too big to swallow. However, the small, young ones haven't learned that yet, so those are the ones to fear. Got that?

Fortunately, the high pitched buzz of the rattlesnake's rattles serves as a warning, and one thing West Texans are taught at an early age is to freeze when that sound fills the air. I've never been tested by a rattler in the wild, and to stand frozen might work for some people. However, jumping ten feet straight up might be my reaction.

The festival started a half century ago when some clever person figured out how to take advantage of an uncomfortable situation. During periods of drought the rattlesnakes would come into the city to get a drink of that sweet, sweet water. And the police were kept busy with calls about snakes crawling around the town. So they held a rattlesnake roundup, and it has turned into an annual event that draws thousands of visitors.

One cautionary note, however. With thousands of visitors on the road, you know the interstate will be buzzing with county mounties and highway patrol. And yesterday afternoon the smoke alarm squealed a half dozen times along the 100 or so miles between Midland and Sweetwater. So anyone making that trip needs to keep one eye fixed on the road and one eye fixed on the speedometer.

And see Big Spring Rattlesnake Roundup -- 3/27/10.

Previously:
Rattlesnake Roundup in Big Spring;
Head em up, Move em out - the Rattlesnake Roundup; and
Rattlesnake meat. It tastes like ....

Updated 3/14/2010: Ronald Bredemeyer, who missed the first festival but attended the second, emailed with a correction. The first one of these was in 1958 making the one this weekend the 52nd annual festival, not the 51st.  Thanks Ronald.

Rattlesnake Roundup in Big Spring

There's a rattlesnake roundup going on this weekend in Big Spring, Texas.

The annual roundup in Sweetwater is generally more widely advertised and attended, but for those people who don't enjoy shoulder to shoulder crowding, the roundup in Big Spring is just the ticket. They put on a great show, too.

Snake handler Jackie Bibby was the master of snake ceremonies yesterday in the Howard County Fair Barn. And he will be the first to tell you that even professionals get bitten. He has the bandaged hand and stitched up arm to prove it.

The first step in treating a person who got in the way of the poisonous fang is to suck out some of the poison with a suction device. Then doctors may have to slice the skin to relieve the swelling pressure to avoid bursting. A good showman has to make sacrifices to please the crowd, but judging from the photos Mr. Bibby displayed of the open wounds and the scar he was sporting, this aspect of the job could not have been a pleasant experience.  Next time break a leg!

Elsewhere at the roundup there was at a snake skinning demonstration, and an amazing thing happened. There's probably more than one way to skin a snake, but in the demonstration yesterday the snake was decapitated, strung up by the tail, then split from tail to chop point. The lady who was doing the slicing grabbed the tail of a snake that had just been decapitated and held it up to hang it. The headless snake was thrashing around, and darned if it didn't strike at her arm as if it were still alive. The neck stump struck the woman's bare arm leaving a smear of its own blood. A direct hit. The head was gone, but the snake was still striking at the person who killed it.

Pretty amazing. The snake skinner was unfazed, but dang, now we have to watch our for zombie snakes?

Links: Big Spring Herald article, Sweetwater Roundup, and Jackie Bibby.

Added later:  A showman gives the folks a show -- Mr. Bibby strips off his bandage for this CBS7 video.

Head em up, Move em out - the Rattlesnake Roundup

The curious traveler can experience the Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater, Texas, the weekend of 3/12/05 [corrected].   It's an annual event, and this one will mark the 46th year in which they have put it on, according to their website.

There will be no pictures of rattlesnakes in this post, but the brave hearted can go here and here for photos.

Those of us who get the heebie geebies around snakes can probably attribute that to our wise caveman ancestry who hard wired this into our brains.

"Snakes have provided a recurrent threat throughout mammalian evolution," [Arne Öhman, a psychologist at the Karolinska Institute and Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden] said, adding that "individuals who have been good at identifying and recruiting defense responses to snakes have left more offspring than individuals with less efficient defense systems."  Source.

In other words, we wouldn't be here if our ancestors were braver.  Fight or flight?  I like flight.

There are opponents to rattlesnake roundups who say that they have a negative impact on the rattlesnake species.  But, it would be hard to prove one side or the other as no one really knows what the snake population is now or was before the roundups began.  But, you can get both sides of the argument at the National Geographic News.  And the Humane Society can expound on the inhumane treatment of snakes at these type roundups.

But, it will be a pleasant diversion on what looks to be a pleasant weekend.  We can save the species next year.

Followup:  The roundup took place last weekend, and the local paper said there were 30,000 people in attendance.  When I attended on Saturday around noon the entire 30,000 weren't present, but it sure seemed like it.  It was so crowded that it took much of the enjoyment out of the event.  But, it was surely a success for the Sweetwater Jaycees.

P.S.  Thanks to Butch for pointing out the mistake in the date in the initial post - it was a month off.  That has been corrected.  Sorry if anyone was misled by that error.

Rattlesnake meat. It tastes like ...

Saw a program on the food channel last night about the rattlesnake cookoff at the Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater, Tx.   And, they all say the same thing.  Rattlesnake meat tastes like - all together now -  "It tastes like CHICKEN!"   

Bull corn.  It's doesn't taste anything at all like chicken, unless they are referring to some sort of prehistoric chicken that looks more like a Velociraptor than a modern day chicken. 

In fact, rattlesnake meat tastes like frog legs.

Update 12/14/04:  The next annual Rattlesnake Roundup will be held the 2nd weekend in March of '05 in Sweetwater, Texas.