Really neat interaction showing off their role as secondary pollinators. Altogether I saw two rattlesnakes and a bullsnake in the span of an hour. This was at the edge of a large black-tailed prairie dog colony in the foothills of the Rockies. I missed the strike by a couple minutes but you can see how big the fangs are in this photo. Both are fairly large adults.
AMAZING. i thought i was lucky for catching a garden snake snatching a field mouse last year. i never see rattlesnakes
Rattlesnakes are so rare away from their dens. I've been hiking in their habitat regularly for 6 years and have only seem them on 3 separate days. Against the sandstone of the area they're all but invisible until I'm 1m away. Even this one would have been hard to spot without the prairie dog in its mouth and I didn't see the other that day until I was almost within striking distance.