Sparky, my family sold our lot a few years back (on Valley Shores Drive as I'm reminded). We were the lot across the street from the Davies Place on the pond side of the cul-de-sac. I haven't seen too many snakes since I was a kid up there, but there was an old abandoned lot across from the A-framed house we used to call the snake pit for a very good reason. :eek:

My friend lives next door to the Davies...wait until I tell her what used to lurk in her neighborhood :) I assumed the snakes must be gone as my friend and the Davies have dogs and they probably would have come across them on their walks.

Rattlesnakes?
 

I remember my uncle telling me when he was a kid, there were rattlesnakes everywhere. I believe they even named an island after the snakes.
Anyway, he told me he was walking through the woods one day and he fell into a large pit with hundreds of rattlesnakes. He thought he was dead but guess how he was saved.............that's right! The flying squirrels came to his rescue again and flew down and picked all the snakes and flew to a place he called "East Chumung" and dropped them off. Boy, if it wasn't for those flying squirrels, my uncle wouldn't be here to tell me these stories.....how sad would that be? That was quite a while ago so I understand there is only one rattlesnake left and last we knew he tried to mate with a garden hose and nothing really happened............except some guy learned not to interrupt a rattlesnake trying to mate.........:eek: :liplick:

Hey Grant,
We saw what we believe to be a Fisher Cat at the island last year. The Cat was slightly bigger than a Bob Cat and had different markings. We caught a quick view of him, you know just enough to say that isn't a normal cat when he(she) spotted us and darted into the thick woods. Pretty cool cat.

We had a Bobcat one winter in our woods (Wolfeboro). Have never seen a Fisher, and hope to keep it that way for the sake of our sweet and overly curious Golden Retriever.

This link was in a different forum - good pics and info.
http://www.pusscats.com/Fisher_Cat.htm

Its a small world after all... You'll have to tell the Davies the old neighbors from across the street say hi.

Don't tell the Davies this, but I remember as a kid watching a snake (don't remember what type) eat a frog right where their garage is today! The remnants of the "pit" were pretty well grown over the last time I checked, but it was an old either slab or filled in foundation in a clearing where I described earlier.

Energizer Needed
 

Then you need a "watch-rabbit"! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSPIR3pclYw

GOooooooooo...bunny! :laugh:

Happy Saint Patrick's Day :-)
 

Hi there,

New member from Wolfeboro recoiling (npi) in horror at the idea of rattlesnake preservation, and cracking up at the same time because of the timing of this discussion. Patrick will always be a saint to me for driving the snakes out of Ireland, and I'm not even Catholic.

Drink up!

There is no "R" in New Yauk

What a wonderful world it will be....
 

if man continues to wipe out EVERYTHING that does not serve a purpose to its needs. All dangerous animals seem to fit this role and we have done a great job in devastating most species. Man is HUGELY ignorant..... species have a right to life regardless of what we think of them. If we decide we don't like something because we saw a scary movie then we react and destroy it. The logic of this process is terrible, mankind has been on this planet for a very short time and we are ruining it and wiping out mass species due to our intolerence and shortsightedness. The future looks even worse, out numbers are out of control and can we really expect that we are not going to hit the wall in another 100 years?

I could easily go off on a million tangents here.

SO if Rattlesnakes should not live(most if not all are already gone in the North East) then Great White sharks, Polar Bears(going if Global warming has its way), Tigers(Siberrian Tiger is almost GONE....next five years may make the remnant Siberian Forest safer with its loss), Wolves......

Great logic, it is scary therefore we should not save it and continue to destroy it...

Your kid Timmy shot out my window....that pisses me off, with ignorant logic I would have to goto jail with my solution....that is if they caught me!

Ok, I stirred the pot - Kevin

Great post RH,
I am not particularly enamored with snakes but I like them a lot more than rats and mice. Your point is well made. We all need to share the earth. It belongs to all of us....

I share your views Rattlesnake Hunter. Thanks for posting.:)

By the way, I caught a show you guys did at the NE Aquarium last February. It was great.

RH...Thank you for the information. I guess I had heard about the timber but never really believed there were any around. It appears that is not the case after reading these posts. While the chances of being bitten by one are fairly low as I understand it, can you give us some advice on what to do if we are ever in the situation of being in the vinicity of one or heaven forbid even being bitten?? Are hospitals in the Lakes Region able to deal with this situation? Thanks for any advice!

Actually..
 

I don't think you have anything to worry about since they have been exteriminated years back. You have the same chance of being eaten by an albino two headed great white shark in your own bathtub....

Generally, with todays treatment the bite is not a life threatening issue as a whole.....

SOme people have even become envenomated and did NOT seek any medical care. The venom attacks tissue and red blood cells....so the damage is generally local to the wound!

That is why I am desperate to see if any are left in the area.... Southern NH is being built up fast and we are racing to find another population...at least to secure the genetics of it!

Kevin

With all due respect, I think you should stop using Algore propoganda as a source of scientific information. Here are some opposing points of view:

Polar bears defy extinction threat
Polar bear numbers up, but rescue continues
Environment News - Polar Bear Populations Are Growing
Global Warming: The Cold, Hard Facts?

Man-made Global Warming may be real and it may not be. Polar Bears may be in danger, and they may not be. These issues need to be honestly and openly debated (without a political agenda) within the scientific community and that is not happening. What is most telling is that so many who speak out about this act as though there is no debate and that any one who disagrees with their politically correct conclusions should be decertified or fired. What more do you need to know? Keep an open mind.

Good point Boater....and glad you brought it out. It's kind of ironic that just a few days after Al Gore received his award,it was revealed that the gas and electric bills on his air conditioned mansion exceeded $30,000......not to mention the fuel for his private jet travel.This was barely reported in a media that fawns over his every move.Sickening !
Oh,and about the polar bears.The film of the poor little cubs,struggling to save themselves on the dwindling ice flows was ANIMATED....which made Inconvenient Truth ineligible for an oscar under the rules.Conveniently overlooked by the fawning.....oops...already said that.

If you don't think we are altering our
 

Environment then you need to pull your head out of the ground!

Forget Al Gore.....Forget POLITICS!!!

I could care.....but, if you don't think Global warming is a realistic result of Man you have your eyes half way shut!

Forget that fact even...there are some SERIOUS problems coming...

The Polar Bears only serve as an example.... the warmer weather that is occuring is preventing the yearly ice bridges which allow them to their winter hunting grounds. If this continues it will have a serious impact on their pops....

You could be one of these people that "Poo Poo" things until it is right in their face... Actually, it will be in your face...just wait another 10 years to see the results. Things are changing very fast..

Are you one of these people that claim extinction is just part of the cycle and Man does not make things go extinct? Since when are we part of nature in our Video mind melted plastic loving world?


Kevin

Cycles
 

Well you know we could sit around and worry to death and fight over deadly emmisions into the atmosphere and animals going extinct. Or we could realize that right now the best things to do is see what nature has in store for us. People worry about global warming a little to much. You know we have to let things play out mother nature knows how to correct her self. It seems as though people want to point fingers and assign blame rather then admit to the fact that we are all, every single one of us including Al Gore for the situation the world finds it in. Sure we need to work on cleaning things up and they are being worked on, but if we rush things we may not like the results. (ie. sure ethanol in gas works well for daily drivers, but has caused nothing but problems in boats and show cars). People need to chill a little.

All the calmity around global warming riminds me of the when the Glaciers retreated on Mt. Rainer some time back (shortly after the St. Helens eruption) and everyone thought Rainer was going to blow. Then all of a sudden the Glaciers stop retreating and started growing again. Why we ask? Because it is mother nature manipulating our world, reminding us who is in charge. There isn't enough recorded data to tell us what the 1000 or 2000 thousand year weather cycles are like. So we can all run scared and yell and scream or we can work on what we can work on to help, and let things happen... I personally am tired of all the yelling and screaming liberal enviormentalists, Nature evolves, creatures Die, sometime to extinction, it an evolving world. Let it evolve... if it didn't we wouldn't be where we are today....

Anyways I will stop my rambling here...... but people have to stop whining about the things they can't control.....

Money, its about money. Look at Al Gore, $60 million this year alone, most from "Global Warming".

I predicted this is where this thread was headed and now I've stirred the pot, released the CO2, used an old picture out of context to show how the poor polar bears are drowning, deduced temperature levels from hundreds of years ago to within 0.5C by looking at tree rings and ice cores , wait a minute I didn't do that, I've only stirred the pot.

WHAT ABOUT THE RATTLESNAKES????

Ummmmm .......
 

Like I said.....where are the Rattlesnakes??

Kevin

I kind of had a feeling this post was trolling to head in this direction.I know,I know,the sky is falling.I think we should make republicans extinct and that would make most liberals feel a whole lot better about the world we live in.

Humm I don't know Kevin what about the Rattlesnakes

And yes things go extinct by virtue of the cycle of things.... man is reposible for not going extinct by evolving with the changing times.........

Yeah...I love the cyle of times comment.

Yeah, tell your grand kids about the Tigers, Elephants, Clouded Leopards and TONS of other animals that once were alive. You can see them in books and maybe at a zoo....

"What happened to all of them?"


"Oh, just the cycle of things".

I view your statement with a bit more levity..

Man destroys everything in its path unless it fits his needs, That is NOT part of the cycle.....

Why is MANKIND so much above everything else? Why are we so precious and everything else is disposible without a right?

We move into an area, we build houses and push the ecosystem into little pockets and then get angry if a skunk digs holes in our lawns?

Kevin

OK,I saw enough of this stuff yesterday on the news by a certain oscar winning ex vice president.Man is evil AND the sky is falling.

Geez, you are still using the Polar Bears as an example? Their population is INCREASING. Bad example!

It must be nice always being right Kevin. You don't KNOW what is going to happen any more than I do. Apparently anyone who doesn't see it your way has their head in the sand. What an attitude!

Some very qualified climatologists have expressed doubts about these "Sky is Falling" conclusions. Why wouldn't you acknowledge their concerns and admit that there are 2 sides to this debate? Which side is right? You don't KNOW and I don't KNOW. Let's all keep an open mind and listen to ALL climatologists before we impose a politically correct solution that could damage our economy.

I have seen much evidence that the earth is constantly warming and cooling. Many climatologists have suggested that increased C02 levels are the RESULT of global warming, not the cause. At the same time we learn that other planets in our solar system are also experiencing global warming. Could it be that changes in the Sun are affecting all the planets? No one knows for sure. That's my whole point.

Whether man-made global warming is real or not, I think we should take better care of the earth and reduce emissions as much as possible. That is a no-brainer. It is just the closed minded approach that I object to.

I was horrified to learn that Congress used Algore, of all people, as an expert witness on global warming. If I were in Congress I would want to hear from a panel of actual climatologists, some that agree with man-made global warming and some that do not. Give an open hearing to both sides and then make a decision. Why is that so unreasonable?

First off, I have no interest in what Al Gore says and you are right..the world is getting better every day...soon it will all be pavement!

Kevin

The moonbats are getting thicker.....what about cockroaches,black flies and mosquito's....they are also natures little creatures.
I'll bet that Rattlesnake has already purchased carbon credits out of guilt from using his A/C.

Kevin:

Do you live in a house and drive a car? How about your house, is it heated by oil, wood or natural gas? Please answer honestly.

Go North?
 

Kevin,

There are indications that critters, diseases, plants, insects (and the birds that follow their hatchings), are slowly relocating their populations and spreading northwards in our hemisphere. (With Europe being the most-studied).

Because of this, is there an active search in Canada for remnant Timber Rattlesnake populations?

The Rattlers are not spreading North..that is for sure!! There are not many to actually go North. I do believe that animals are slowly spreading North if they can.

Yes, I own a car and burn fossil fuels...no question! My point is that I realize this and appreciate things wile others have the ideals that "Oh, I don't like things like sharks and rattlesnakes, they should all be dead and why would anyone care if they were allgone".

I HATE that!

Kevin

Rattlesnakes
 

A bit off the topic, specifically, but still about rattlesnakes: Wouldn't it be an interesting turn in developments if we were to find out through research that in fact the snake was actually named after the island. Have a very nice day.

Still Wishing....
 

I can only hope there are some left.....


pave the UNIVERSE!

Sighting of a Timber - 2003 in Southwestern NH - Monadnock Region
 

Northside - along the Pompelly (sp?) ridge - I sighted a timbersnake 3 years ago. Late September early afternoon hiking up the mountain - on a clearing - rock ledge - with lots of deadwood around - was an impressive sight. I did not stick around to hear it rattle - nor did i get close enough to worry it enough - but the friend I was hiking with - a biologist from the school we were both teaching - identified the snake, we paid homage and moved on - quickly and calmly. I also posted somewhere else in here that I was a victim of a watersnake - scared the daylights out of me - I shreeked so loudly that the neighbors came rushing out of their cottage - they thought I'd been run over by a boat!
My wife found it VERY humorous!!:laugh:

Milksnake
 

Here is a pic of a milksnake I rescued from an angry woman's basement before it got broomed to death. Fish and game said it was a baby reticulated python....


http://www.wolfeboro.net/rep/keithmilksnake.jpg

A Retic it is NOT!!!!
 

I know those guys and that is not even close...glad to see you saved the poor little guy!!!

I had someone bring me a baby that they claimed was a Timber Rattlesnake...they cut the last 1/3 off its body off with scissors..... and it was still alive... Very brutal to say the least!


As far as that Ridge sighting....what area is this? Town...any other landmarks so i can look on a Topographical map?

Thanks - Kevin

correction
 

sorry, couldnt think of what they said at the time, they said burmese python.

I have a few ideas of a few locations to search, untouched with rocky southern exposures, where I have heard of sightings. There was a massive wildfire in the 50s in one location, so I checked the burn areas a few years back to see if these locations were burned over, and they did not seem to be. I can get some maps and GPS coords together if you want to go for a pretty severe bushwack this spring when they would come out, if they are not all gone.

As a side note, I used to have a rattle from one my great grandfather killed in the 60s in Tuftonboro with an ax, and to my knowledge one has not been seen since in the area.

One residence in the area said they used to have to shoe them off the porch every morning where they would be sunning, so they cemented in the dens.

email me if you are interested, keith@wolfeboro.net

Dublin NH - off 101
 

Was on Mount Monadnock's Pompelly Ridge - coming up from the northern side of the mountain - off the Dublin Trail (near the lake) on 101.

Overall, not a BAD year....
 

Let's see....

We've had threads on viscious fisher-cats, confiscatory tax bill HB925, arsenic in our wells, a bad maple syrup season, dock tarantulas, mountain lions, bears, a major loon die-off, power failures, water snakes, stolen Jet-Skis and plows, an overflowing lake, floods, drunk boaters ramming islands, black snakes, new Winnipesaukee speed zones, a rained-out summer, the state's disavowing its own on-line boater testing, discriminatory marinas, nearly no ice, a snowmobile fire, frightened kayakers, government intrusions, a miserable 2007 winter (no snow), a miserable 2007 winter (too much snow), an earthquake and now, rattlesnake dens. :eek:

Someday, we'll have this lake all to ourselves! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I am sure you are right...
 

Someday the Lake will be there just for people like it should be. A lovely paved perimeter leading to its dead shores.... nothing but people, motor boats and hip hop.

Then you will have it all to yourself...

Why do people think that man deserves everything at the expense of everything?


THose Loons....just tired of hearing them WHINE!

SATAN

Now there's a nice post that should encourage anyone who sees a rattlesnake to run to their computer and try to look you up. :rolleye2:

I'm pretty sure APS was invoking his own brand of SARCASM. I find your post on the otherhand disturbing.