This section is currently being constructed, for now, we provide you with some common myths about snakes:
MYTH #1
Rattlesnakes and Gopher snakes are enemies and fight each other to the death.
TRUTH
Actually these two snake species will even den together. The only time they may fight is if they are competing for the same food source!
MYTH #2
Rattlesnakes will hunt you down and bite you because they love to eat people!
TRUTH
Actually the Western Rattlesnake is a quite a shy and timid reptile. They prefer to retreat when faced with a human. They will only strike as a last resort.
HINT: Don’t pick up snakes! This frightens them and they may defend themselves by stiking. Only about 3 bites happen each year in the whole province, and usually these occur because the person has picked up or harassed the snake. Since the turn of the last century, only two people have died in BC from a rattlesnake bite.
MYTH #3
You can tell the age of a rattlesnake by the number of sections on its rattle.
TRUTH
Actually each time a rattlesnake sheds its skin, a new section of the rattle is revealed. Snakes shed their skin when they get too fat to fit in their regular skin. So, the more a snake eats, the more often it will need to shed!
