Even today, people who do not understand or appreciate their value continue to needlessly kill them. Of Wisconsin's 21 species, 14 are considered "rare" and listed as endangered, threatened or special concern.
There are two species of rattlesnakes in Wisconsin timber rattlesnake and eastern massasauga although both species, especially the eastern massasauga, are very rare.
But there are many non-venomous snake species that often mimic rattlesnakes. These mimics vibrate their tails when they feel threatened. If you believe you may have seen a rattlesnake in Wisconsin, please look over our rattlesnake mimic publication [PDF] for identification tips.
Find ways to reduce wildlife-human conflict and avoid wildlife damage. Explore Wisconsin's rare plants, animals and natural communities. Learn about wildlife health and rehabilitation. Both of these species were historically very abundant in Wisconsin, and the first mention of rattlesnakes in the state was by Hennepin during his travels up the upper Mississippi Riverway in To give some overall idea of the historical prevalence of rattlesnakes throughout much of Wisconsin, it can be noted that many early travelers to the state, including Marryat, believed that there may have been no other place in America where the two respective species were larger and more numerous than in Wisconsin, and those who have made overland trips from one area of the state to the other often witnessed both species along their ways.
As an example, the timber rattlesnake never occurred east of Madison, even historically, any references to rattlesnakes from there on were more likely to have been the eastern massasauga. Most at home in the steep, rugged bluffs and valleys of the southwestern and western regions of the state along the lower Wisconsin and Mississippi Riverways, these boldly colored and patterned, well known snakes are a rusty yellowish or orange, brownish yellow, pinkish-brown, grayish or grayish-brown in ground color with numerous darker brown or black chevron shaped crossbands, grading into a darker black tail and lighter colored tan rattle.
Oftentimes, a narrow reddish-orange dorsal stripe is present on some snakes, and the head tends to be wide and unpatterned or unmarked except for a few small dark pinpoints. Timber rattlesnakes in Wisconsin, as well as other northern states within their range require deep rocky fissures which go well beneath the frostline in order to successfully brumate and overwinter. The historical distribution of timber rattlesnakes in Wisconsin has remained largely intact, despite significant reductions in population sizes.
Elsewhere in the U. The eastern massasauga, Sistrurus catenatus, is the smaller, more secretive, and at least somewhat lesser well-known rattlesnake species in Wisconsin.
The head is relatively narrow and slender for a rattlesnake, and a series of ligher and darker ocular or eye stripes are present as well. Occasionally, darker to even melanistic abundance of darker pigmentation massasaugas are also noted in some regions.
In Wisconsin, massasaugas were formally very numerous over much of the southern two thirds or so of the state, with many accounts of them by travelers in some areas, although today, populations are restricted to perhaps 5 or fewer in remote western and west-central Wisconsin, as well as very small areas of perhaps south-central and southeastern Wisconsin.
Although a rattlesnake species which does rattle when sufficiently disturbed, it is oftentimes less audible than that of the timber rattlesnake or other larger rattlesnakes. Early settlers to Wisconsin often likened it to that of the buzz of an insect or ticking of watches.
It was noted that despite the abundance of massasaugas in early settlement, their rattle often sounded feeble and persons or livestock were seldom bitten. Currently listed as a state of Wisconsin endangered species, the eastern massasauga is also now currently listed as a federally threatened species as well, which much of its range elsewhere having declined as well, including elsewhere in the Midwest, Northeast, and into southeastern Canada.
This means the young develop and hatch from eggs internally within the mother before being deposited in a clear, membrane consisting of egg yolk and other nutrients the neonate snakes can subsist on as their first meals.
So if rattlesnakes are capable of reproducing, why are the threats they face such an issue when it comes to their reproductive viability?
Typically, in most cases, rattlesnakes mate and copulate when they emerge in the spring in May and June, and gestate their internally developing young in dry, sunny, warm, and exposed locations throughout the summer, and then deposit their young in late summer or autumn of that same, or even following year.
Unlike many other snakes, recent findings published indicate that at least some species of rattles do provide some maternal care for their newly deposited young for as much as 7 to 14 days or more, whereas these neonates have been observed to remain at, or near their birthing rocks or other areas where they were born.
Furthermore, female rattlesnakes have been shown to be capable of retaining sperm for up to several years, and may only reproduce every two to three years or more when conditions are favorable. Indeed, neonate rattlesnakes are born with venom, and are largely capable of hunting and defending themselves shortly thereafter.
However, it is largely a persistent myth that baby snakes are ironically more dangerous than adults, which is mostly not the case. It has been found that neonate snakes are able to control and monitor their venom, just as adults can. While neonate snakes may have differing venom composition than adults, the metric which should be rather considered is the volume produced and injected in that of a bite.
Depending on the age, size, and overall health and condition of the snake, anywhere from 4 to 14 neonate snakes are possible, give or take. So why are rattlesnake species in many areas having a hard time keeping up with the threats. Part of this problem lays in the fact that many rattlesnakes require a relatively long time among snakes to reach sexual maturity in order to be reproductively viable in the first place. For example, it may not take a female timber rattlesnake until its 8 th to 10 th year or even more to become sexually mature.
Secondly, relatively small litter or brood sizes, as mentioned above, and high predation and persecution rates, are also factors. Indeed, even though they are born with venom, neonate and baby rattlesnakes, and even adult snakes, fall prey to a myriad of other animals including bird of prey, turkeys, and other large birds, a number of carnivorous to omnivorous, or scavenging mammals such as skunks, raccoons, foxes, weasels, and others, and other snake species, for example.
Habitat Loss, Fragmentation, Modification, and Development. You can recognize it by its grayish-brown color with a banded neck and alternating dark blotches on its back. The snake is not poisonous however it has an anticoagulant in its saliva that causes victims to bleed a lot when bitten. If you see this snake, back away and do not touch! It tends to be a little more aggressive if it feels cornered.
The northern water snake is quite common to lakes, ponds, swamps, and other bodies of water throughout the Eastern United States. Normally this snake is encountered while it is basking on stumps and rocks or when it is hunting along the weed beds. However no snake in the park is poisonous other than the Timber Rattler. If you were bitten… If you were to be bitten by a rattlesnake in the park, notify authorities immediately.
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