Snakes

Meet our snakes!

All of the snakes in our study have painted rattle segments in a unique combination of colors for identification (rattle code). Meet the snakes below and click on their names to read about them on the blog.

Persephone
female black-tailed rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus)
rattle code: blue-orange
Jaydin led us to this sweet little girl. The full story can (eventually) be found on the blog, but the short version is that Jaydin courted Persephone for about a week in the summer of 2012. She is named for the Greek goddess Persephone, queen of the underworld.

Bane
male Arizona black rattlesnake (Crotalus cerberus)
rattle code: orange-orange
Bane was originally encountered during Snake Count Spring 2012, when he was spotted drinking from Secret Springs. We didn’t implant a radio transmitter at that time, but encountered him again that summer, at which time we decided to keep a closer eye on him. Bane was named for the main villain in The Dark Knight Rises.

Cathy
female Arizona black rattlesnake (Crotalus cerberus)
rattle code: yellow-black
We again hosted the field biology class from Bangor University in September 2012. Whilst discussing social rattlesnake behavior in the commons, Cathy crawled onto the patio just outside the door. She is named for one of the professors leading the class.

Luna
female Arizona black rattlesnake (Crotalus cerberus)
rattle code: yellow
Jeff came across this little lady while tracking Glendy in August 2012. We didn’t immediately come up with a name for her, so we decided to hold an online contest to name the snake. Luna was the name chosen by our fans on facebook.

Alumni
We are no longer tracking these snakes with radio telemetry, however, we still run into them from time to time so they may appear on the blog.

Henry

male western diamond-backed rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)
rattle code: red-red
Found on 23 September 2011 cruising across the visitor center parking lot. Henry is a very large rattlesnake; more than 1100 mm (3.6 ft) in length and 1100 g (2.5 lb) in mass. Henry Hooker was probably the most famous owner of Muleshoe Ranch and the hot springs (and our rattlesnake) are named for him.

Stuart

male western diamond-backed rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)
rattle code: yellow-brown
Found in hot springs wash near Muleshoe Ranch on 23 September 2011. Named after the Bangor University student who found him.

Glendy

male Arizona black rattlesnake (Crotalus cerberus)
rattle code: green-green
Found crawling through some vegetation near Muleshoe road on 28 September 2011. Glendy King was the original homesteader at Muleshoe Ranch and was shot near the spot Glendy the rattlesnake was found.

Barney

male Arizona black rattlesnake (Crotalus cerberus)
rattle code: purple-purple
Found hunting on a small ledge next to a pool of water near the Stone Cabin on 28 September 2011. Because his rattle code is purple-purple, we named him after the big purple dinosaur.

Boyett

male Arizona black rattlesnake (Crotalus cerberus)
rattle code: yellow-yellow
Found on the shore of secret springs on 2 October 2011. Johnny Boyett was a manager here in the late 1800’s and shot and killed Warren Earp (Wyatt’s brother).

Jaydin
male black-tailed rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus)
rattle code: yellow-yellow
Found crossing a dry section of hot springs wash on 23 September 2011. Jaydin is a strikingly beautiful black-tailed rattlesnake: bright yellow with dark brown markings. He was named after the grandson of Jose Maldonado, who found him. On 25 October 2012 was killed by a predator (read more here).

Chris

male Arizona black rattlesnake (Crotalus cerberus)
rattle code: blue-blue
Found coiled under a small log in a small stand of cottonwoods on 26 September 2011, Chris was our first Arizona black in the study. Sadly, Chris was found dead on 21 May 2012, likely due to predation (full story here)

Historical facts from The Nature Conservancy’s book, Life and Death at Hooker’s Hot Springs, by T.F. Mills (2009).