Rattkesnake Surprise

[santaman2000]

I used to lift the old fashioned small square bails with a snake bailed into it occasionally. But never quite like this:

 

[bopdude]

Wow, that's different

 

[Mesquite]

Talk about wrong place wrong time

 

[Goatboy]

I'm no herpetologist but that looks awful big for a rattler! A feral escapee boa maybe?

 

[santaman2000]

Eastern diamondbacks get big, but it looks a bit big to me too. That said, the body and head shape are definitely rattler. Maybe JD will be along in a while to confirm or refute.

 

[Robson Valley]

What a twist of fate.
Size and skin pattern does not look "rattler" to me. Can't define it but just doesn't look right.
If that's a 600# round bale, that's one big snake.

 

[santaman2000]

What a twist of fate.
Size and skin pattern does not look "rattler" to me. Can't define it but just doesn't look right.
If that's a 600# round bale, that's one big snake.

No, I agree, it's not quite right. My first thought is a bit of photo tampering TBH. But the skin is definitely close, as I said, the shape is definitely rattler (thick bodied and tapering to the poisonous snake head):

 

[Harvestman]

Diamondback rattlers are some of the largest (heaviest) venomous snakes in the world so this is quite plausible. Sad to see.

 

[OldJimbo]

We used to cut and rake the hay into rows, then use a bailer when it had dried some. I did pick up a bale which had a garter snake caught in the top and having it wrap around my arm almost caused a heart attack.... We untangled its tail and it seemed OK.

 

[mark stotesbury]

That's a sad sight .

 

[Bowlander]

I know of a guy that got bitten by an adder that was stuck in a bale. His hand never really worked the same. I've seen pheasant poults baled up as well.