Black Snapper

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IMG_0921, originally uploaded by Mic2006.

I am terrified of snakes. In pulling this fellow from his den I had to really fight to control myself. I know of no other poisonous snake in Ontario. This is what is known as the Massasagua rattler aka. “The Black Snapper” or the “swamp rattler”. It’s colour and appearance may vary but he is a common inhabitant of the limestone alvars on the northern Bruce Peninsular.

I dont make a habit of disturbing snakes, especially poisonous ones but this was a necessity, we were working that day to try and enlarge a natural shaft so that divers could access the water tunnels beneath.

The rattler seems to have found his way down to the bottom of this 40 foot pit. Though David Sawatzky might have been comfortable working in close proximity to the snake, I was not. He picked this one up and placed him in a bucket and I hauled him to the surface. Thinking everything was fine I slid down to the cavity below only to discover that there were many tiny snakes, about the width and length of licorice sticks. working with a pneumatic hammer I looked up and saw one just above my head, his tounge flickering out to taste my scent. The heat from the floodlight that we had set in place down there drew a crowd, when I went to move it there were several of the tiny snakes perched around. I would imagine that they were attracted by the warmth.

The babies are as poisonous as the adults. It was an eerie kind of feeling and I shiver to think of one falling from a shelf and dropping down my back.