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| Blacktailed rattlesnake |
Out of the sixteen varieties of rattlesnakes found in the US, twelve live in Arizona and six in the Tucson area. A couple of tales from brother Mike who has lived there since 1980:
Mike was an avid cyclist for years but one had to be prudent where and when hit the road. A favorite route was up in Sabino Canyon NE of his home. One hazard was rattlesnakes who would venture out at the end of the day onto the pavement to soak up that day's lingering heat. Best as he and his buddies could to avoid them, sometimes the snakes would lash out at their bikes. One evening, he arrived home after a ride and discovered a severed head and about a foot of torso caught in his spokes-the remnant of an angry rattler.
A high-end hotel chain built a new property up in the foothills north of town. Someone from corporate either didn't do their homework and/or ignored advice from the locals. The first Spring hotel workers and guests discovered to their horror that the parking lot was literally crawling with rattlers. It seems the company built the hotel on an ancient rattler breeding ground.
Rattlers during cold weather brumate which is similar to hibernation but the creature does not conk out for months at a time. Instead, rattlers will sleep a lot, become less active and their metabolism slows down tremendously. As the weather warms up, the become more active and often are cranky until they feed. Then, they're in the mood for luv.
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