Idaho’s Snake River Becoming the Rattlesnake River

Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Deputies are seeing rattlers near Centennial Park.  Some people believe rattlesnakes can’t swim.  Deputies will tell you they’ve seen otherwise.  At Blue Heart Springs there are places in the rocks that can provide shelter for snakes.  Many boaters and kayakers like to stop there, tie up, and sit along the cliff.  They’re often very close to rattlers.  On one recent patrol, deputies saw a kayak with blood stains.  The blood was from a snake.

Some could even take shelter in a boat or kayak.

While we don’t have many rattlesnake bites in Idaho, they happen.  Check out this link about a girl bitten by a poisonous viper.

Generally, the snakes near Twin Falls, such as bull snakes, are docile.  Rattlers aren’t looking for you but will attack when they feel threatened.

We have a couple of causes for more sightings.  More people are entering territory common to wild animals.  And wild animals are becoming more acclimated to human beings and our communities.  That’s why we see more moose and mountain lions in residential neighborhoods in southern Idaho.  My closest encounter with a rattler was in West Virginia.  My family and I pulled into a rest stop where a guy had just killed one.

During a vacation in Montana, I was at a rest stop and saw a sign that warned me the area was a snake habitat.  I didn’t stick around.  I figured I was an easy target because, among the Montanans, the rattlers hadn’t yet found anything worth biting.

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