Rattlesnake Roundup

This weekend was the annual Morris Rattlesnake roundup. The rattlesnakes around here are Timber Rattlers which come in two colors yellow and black. During the contest they give out awards for the biggest yellow one and biggest black one. The snakes are micro-chiped and released back to where they were captured.

There were a total of 37 hunters, John Templin caught the biggest Yellow at 51.5 inches and Dyllan Weikel caught the biggest black at 47.25 inches. What is even more interesting is the black one was caught by Dylan's father Jason two years earlier and the yellow winner was caught by Jeff Rice 3 years earlier. The micro
chip enables this tracking of the snakes for years.

The snakes are protected animals. The snake handlers are not as well protected. The man on the left is Amos Osborn, who is a long-time snake handler at the event. Last year a snake turned around and bit him. This is the second time he has been bitten and by far the worst. You can see from his hospital pictures it was quite a nasty bite.

Amos has decided not to handle the snakes anymore since another bite would not be in his best interest. Timber rattlers are generally not very aggressive. But placed in a stressful situation
they will retaliate. This should be a warning to all about attempting to handle these snakes.

All in all it is a fun time seeing the snakes at Morris every year. Mountain Girl, Paula, logging out!