By Staff
Snakes. You either love 'em or hate 'em with not much middle ground. Most of us fall in the latter category. A year or so ago in this column I discussed the massasauga rattlesnake, Michigan's only venomous snake. That's right, no water moccasins or copperheads as so often rumored. At the time I had only seen one massasauga in the wild and that was over 40 years ago and I didn't really know much about them. Since then I have discovered massasaugas at our Marcellus farm and have learned more about them.
First I will correct an error I made in the previous column. I believe I described massasaugas as being a yellowish tan color with dark brown, irregular markings. My mind was recalling the Pacific diamondback rattlesnake which I was much more familiar with. The massasauga's color ranges from light to medium gray with quite large, irregular rusty red spots along their backs and sides. This unique coloring is quite striking (pun intended) and actually very pretty. The books say they average from two to three feet long. In talking to experts, though, three feet would be a mighty large massasauga. Around two feet is more the norm.
The only real look alike might be the Eastern milk snake, sans the rattles, of course. Other snakes with a similar mottled pattern such as the water snake, fox snake and hog nose snake are various shades of tans and browns, not the distinctive gray and rust coloring of the massasauga. Another identifying feature is a thick body in comparison to length. There is a distinct narrowing at the neck and then a wide, flattened head. Other snakes are usually more streamlined with a round head about the same diameter as the body.
Massasauga is a Chippewa Indian word meaning 'big river mouth'. I'm not sure of the exact correlation other than the massasauga does inhabit river bottoms and marshy wetlands. Prime habitat for this snake is shallow marshes with lots of grasses, shrubs and cattails for cover. Less frequently inhabited are open marshes, streams and rarely lakes. Though the wetlands are their home they love to crawl out into adjacent fields and grasslands in search of mice and large insects as well as some sun bathing.
One of our local nature experts, Bill Westrate, has experience with massasaugas and has often told me that they have no penchant for aggression. Having lived around the diamondbacks of the west which crawl around with an attitude I always took that with a grain of salt. However, a month ago I came across a massasauga on my Marcellus farm that was all curled up and just passing the time of day. After calming my willies and making sure Little Big Dog was occupied elsewhere I started prodding it with a stick. A very long stick. It wouldn't strike at the stick or even rattle. With continued pestering it eventually just crawled off, never once rattling or striking out. I suppose if I'd stepped on it or picked it up it would have taken exception but this guy just wanted to be left alone.
The massasauga is steadily declining throughout its range in the Northeast and Midwest and is now quite rare. Studies are currently underway to see if it warrants a place on the Federal endangered species list.
We really have little to fear of the massasauga. It's so rare most folks will never see one. Even if you do encounter one, with it's passive demeanor it won't likely bite if left alone. Michigan is the main stronghold of the massasauga and even here only one or two bites a year are reported. Also, like most venomous snakes, as much as half the time they don't inject venom when they bite in self defense. Their venom is one of the stronger rattlesnake venoms but they are so small not much is injected. Rarely is a bite life threatening. In fact, no one has died from a massasauga bite in over forty years. In talking to the vet, even small dogs usually survive unless bitten in the face or chest. Carpe diem.
Larry Lyons writes a weekly outdoor column for Leader Publications. He can be reached at larrylyons@beanstalk.net