Snake Karma: To Kill or Not to Kill

[Outlander]

Any person who spends a significant amount of time outdoors in Arizona will eventually be confronted with a rattlesnake. The probabilities of encounter depend on four variables: the number of miles hiked, the location, the season, and the time of day. Much like a Las Vegas casino, where the House always wins, finding a rattlesnake is a positive expectancy.

The question is: Will you kill the rattlesnake, and what are the consequences, if any, of such action?

First, let’s explore the legality of snake killing. Under Commission Order 43, a valid Arizona hunting license is required to possess or kill a rattlesnake in areas open to hunting. No more than 4 rattlesnakes per year can be killed or possessed. Of the 13 species of rattlesnake present within Arizona, three are protected and cannot be killed or possessed: the rock rattlesnake, the twin-nosed rattlesnake, and the ridge-nosed rattle snake.

So it is now established that rattlesnakes can be harvested if done in a lawful manner. Why then, do we feel compelled to kill every rattlesnake that we come across? The motivations are many, but these are the two most common:

A. Fear
B. A man must protect his family

There is no doubt, rattlesnakes are very dangerous. Their venom can cause massive nerve and tissue damage, and in rare cases, even death (1% mortality rate). For this reason, this animal deserves a great deal of respect and should be dealt with caution. However, it is not necessary to destroy all things that might do us harm, to kill what we fear. Is this fear justified in relation to other, much more likely, dangers to our person? A good example is the television program, 1000 Ways To Die, which shows a cornucopia of interesting and gruesome ways ordinary Americans have met their end. The dangers in this world are many, but it is pure folly to live your life in a state of constant fear. We fear snakes, so we destroy them. We fear terrorism, so we allow our wives and children to be molested at the airport. etc. etc. etc.

It is a man’s duty to protect his family from harm. Under no circumstances would he allow venomous reptiles to come in contact with those under his care. Therefore, any and all rattlesnakes found near his home should be removed. This is just common sense and the right thing to do.

However, this line of reasoning can be taken to extremes: If the snakes that live near his hearth and home must be destroyed, then should not the ones further away be killed, as well? For they too, pose a threat to the lives of his family, however remote. The motives behind this rationale are sound, but the likelihood of his family ever coming in contact with a rattlesnake deep in the backwoods is essentially zero, so why then must the animal be killed? It poses no threat to anyone but him, the man who hiked deep in-country, not because it was easy, but because it was hard.

Rattlesnakes have been very good to me in the field, so in gratitude, I have become an advocate of sorts, and refrain from killing them. I have sat on, kicked, brushed aside, and crawled next to, over a dozen rattlesnakes during my travels. Never once did they bite me. Was it mere luck, or something else? Perhaps there is guardian angel looking out for me? This is unlikely. Being a ‘C and E’ Christian, (they only attend Christmas and Easter church services) I am not eligible for divine intervention, so I am told. On the contrary, my luck with snakes has to do with Snake Karma.

Snake Karma: Those who live and let live, who choose life over death, create a peaceful coexistence with the snake. The snake poses no threat to those who are no threat to him. It gives pardon when it has the upper hand, as do you, when the advantage is yours. Goodness begets goodness, just as evil begets evil.

Kill one snake too many, and your fate just might be sealed,
for a rattlesnake awaits you, in some faraway, forgotten field.
You have a rendezvous with death, you that unlucky one percent,
The Reaper has your name now; it is far too late to repent.
He will arrive in the form of a snake, whose bite will be your end,
For those who choose a different path, the snake is a lifelong friend.

[snakemarks]

A blanket fear of rattlesnakes comes from ignorance.

The deliberate and unprovoked killing of rattlesnakes outside of your personal domain simply because they have the ability (though, not the desire) to best you comes from crippling insecurity. (If you want to impress with a snake kill, put down the gun and kill it with your bare hands. Now, that's manly!)

To any who might be inclined to shoot one for sport, I would ask that you pause first to envision your home space infested with rodents. Vipers are an important part of the eco-system and we'd eventually be in dire straits without them.

Live and let live. :A1:

[Tough_Boots]

I would ask that you pause first to envision your home space infested with rodents.

Exact same reason why I let a very nice spider live in my bathroom!

[kingsnake]

Spiders are a different story. They stay in their space, we cool. They get in my space, they die.

[chumley]

Exact same reason why I let a very nice spider live in my bathroom!

I'm not nearly as much a fan of spiders as I am lizards. I have been known to "relocate" small ones from outdoors to the bathroom where they seem to thrive. They really enjoy living under the latest issue of Backpacker! And they do take care of anything else that might want to call the bathroom home.

[Alston_Neal]

Thirty one years ago when we bought our brand new home it was on scrapped earth, nary a weed. But I brought in geckos from the old homestead and let them go in the garage. Now with mature landscaping we have dozens of geckos, different types of lizards and birds and a couple of lousy feral cats.
The geckos are good for the insects that come out at night like roaches and crickets, but they suck at getting the cats. The other lizards, birds and our dog have the daytime patrol.

[autumnstars]

We had to halt our procession out of WCC this wknd so my brother-in-law could work out of the ground a branch he tripped over and scratched himself on so he could chuck it over the edge to "teach it a lesson."

[kevinweitzel75]

The geckos are good for the insects that come out at night like roaches and crickets, but they suck at getting the cats.

Thats funny. At my last house, we had a dozen or so geckos that would come out at night and crawl across our patio lid. We would watch them for hours fighting and chasing the bugs that would land anywhere near them. I miss geckos.

[Alston_Neal]

@kevinweitzel75
Did I mention I also rent geckos....