Suzio Report 3/09/12


Howdy Herpers, 03/09/12
We'll get the bummer news out of the way first, and hopefully, follow up with the fun stuff soon.
It appears that our lone Mojave Rattlesnake met Mr. Badger out in paradise.
Pic 1: Male Crotalus scutulatus #1, "Blake the Snake" in situ on 28 September 2011. This was the best image that I was able to get of him during the 8 months that he was under watch.

Pic 2: On 11 November, Blake the Snake moved into his hibernaculum. The hole just to the right of the flag was the K-rat hole that he utilized.
Pic 3: On 20 February, John Slone and I tracked him, and found the evidence that Blake the Snake had been attacked. The hole is distinctly badger shaped. The dirt pile in front of the hole was undisturbed by us for this shot, but there doesn't seem to much in the way of tracks to verify "badger" for sure. Does anybody else think anything other than badger? We got the impression our snake was still alive at this point.
Pic 4: The smoking gun. On 3 March, I noted that the hole had been enlarged slightly. Whatever was digging moved to the left a bit, and scored. The transmitter was buried about 1 inch under the loose soil. Note that there is a bite mark on the "L" of the serial number on the transmitter. Can you imagine digging face first into the maw of a scut lair? That's a scary way to make a living!
Pic 5: "And you flowers bloom like madness in the spring............."

Best to all, roger

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