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« on: July 07, 2010, 06:54:14 am » |
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Families encounter lethal rattlesnakes in Brown County
Indianapolis - The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is trying to preserve a rare, endangered rattlesnake. But many visitors to Brown County don't realize the state's unofficial outdoor capitol is home to a poisonous, lethal viper – and a local family just found out the hard way.
Sherry Minkis says her family was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, but she still wonders if a deadly accident at Brown County State Park could have been avoided.
"I love the park and we go there all the time," she said. "I just had no idea we would encounter a rattlesnake."
The Minkis family was camping inside the popular park in early June when the encounter took place near the Taylor Ridge campground. Sherry, along with her 8-year-old daughter, Cora; some family friends and her two miniature dachshunds, had just begun a morning walk along trail 9 when the dogs spotted something on the trail and ran ahead to explore.
"Everything happened so fast," Minkis recalls. "I said [to my friends] ‘It's a rattler' and they said ‘You're kidding! A rattler?' It was rattling and hissing and had its head raised. It was in a defensive position… I said "Yeah, it sure looks like a rattler."
She was right. The dogs had spotted a timber rattlesnake lying in the middle of the trail. By the time Minkis realized the danger, it was too late. The rattlesnake struck one of the dogs in the face.
"Gus was bit in the eye and I could tell it was a very serious bite," Minkis said. "His face was swollen and his eyes were swollen shut. He started getting very quiet real quickly. He wasn't really responding."
A local veterinarian tried to save the dog, but could not.
"I've never seen a dog react quite like that," said James Brester, a veterinarian at Bean Blossom Animal Clinic. "He was in bad shape and it's not that surprising. That's some very strong venom."
A few hours later, Minkis returned from her Brown County camping trip to bury Gus in the backyard of the family's Brownsburg home.
"We're heartbroken, but we're grateful it wasn't our daughter," Minkis said. "If we hadn't had the dogs with us, it could have been our daughter that got there first."
Thousands of rattlesnakes
Timber rattlesnakes are an endangered species in Indiana, but researchers say there are more timber rattlers in and around Brown County than anywhere else in the state.
Brian MacGowan, a Purdue University extension wildlife specialist who studies timber rattlesnakes, told 13 Investigates it is very difficult to accurately determine the number of timber rattlesnakes in southern Indiana, but he estimates "somewhere in the low thousands" currently live in Brown, Monroe and southern Morgan counties.
"You're not going to find them in Indianapolis. You're not going to find them in Lafayette or Evansville. You're going to find them right in this part of the state," MacGowan said.
Indiana is also home to three other venomous snakes: northern copperheads which are also native to the Brown County area, water moccasins (cottonmouths) in southern Indiana and Massasauga rattlesnakes found further north in the state.
Staff at Brown County State Park have been trying to educate and warn park visitors about the resident rattlers through signs, pamphlets and classes, but they admit many of the more than one million people who visit the park annually have no idea it is home to rattlesnakes.
"They're surprised we have rattle snakes and they're even more surprised to know it's a lethal, venomous snake," said park naturalist Jim Eagleman. "The poisonous nature of the venom can destroy skin tissue … so we want to warn anyone within striking distance of a rattlesnake, it can inject venom, so keep a distance."
Injuries rare
Throughout the summer, sightings of timber rattlesnakes are relatively common within the park. Eagleman says his staff gets weekly reports about timber rattlesnakes close to the Taylor Ridge campground sites, where rattlesnake sightings are most common. But he says injuries from those snakes are extremely rare.
"I don't want to create the fear in people's minds that these are everywhere waiting for us, and that they wrestle us down and go for the jugular because that's just not the case," Eagleman said. "They tend to be retreating and shy. They're rare and they belong here, so we want to make sure they stay around."
In 2009, the Indiana Poison Center consulted on 57 snake bites. While 11 of those bites are linked to copperheads and one resulted from a cottonmouth, none of the snake bites reported last year were traced to timber rattlesnakes, according to poison center director James Mowry.
Brester told WTHR his veterinary clinic treats two or three dogs per year for rattlesnake bites, but Eagleman says the incident involving the Minkis' family dog is the first rattlesnake bite he's aware of inside Brown County State Park.
"Besides this, I can't recall a single case," he said, adding that park rules require all dogs to be kept on short leashes. "Your dog is a guest. The wildlife live here."
Eagleman also addressed a rumor that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources is attempting to re-populate Brown County State Park with rattlesnakes to help strengthen their numbers. "That's simply not true – just a rumor," he said. "We've never introduced them. We've never dropped them in from the air. Never, ever have we brought them in. They belong here, they're indigenous and native."
Following the snakes
The Nature Conservancy in Indiana has been working in Brown County to protect large blocks of forest and the timber rattlesnake that live there, according to Dan Shaver, program director of The Nature Conservancy's Brown County Hills Project.
The project has helped permanently protect 5,000 acres of land in Brown County through partnerships and land acquisition.
Purdue University and the Indiana DNR are now studying the timber rattlesnake to better understand how the endangered species travels within its habitat. MacGowan and other Purdue researchers have been finding snakes, surgically implanting them with radio transmitters, then tracking their movements throughout area forests. The project, called the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment, is designed to research the impact of timber harvesting on rattlesnakes and other animals native to Yellowwood and Morgan Monroe state forests.
"When you get down in areas like Brown County State Park and Yellowwood State Forest, you should be careful where you step," MacGowan said. "They're [rattlesnakes] are all spread out, sprinkled in the forest. They've always been here and people have always camped here, so it comes down to common sense, I think."
Timber rattlesnakes measure three to five feet long. They usually have dark bands running across their backs, which help them blend into leaves and sticks along the forest floor. Because of their camouflaged markings, it can be very difficult to spot a timber rattlesnake. While tracking snakes in Yellowwood State Forest with MacGowan, investigative reporter Bob Segall was only five feet away from a timber rattlesnake before he was able to spot it.
"There's always a risk of getting bit, but as long as you stay a safe distance away, chances are you're going to be just fine," MacGowan said. "I'm always surprised by how many people live in this area and don't even realize they're around, and that just goes to show you their strategy is really to remain hidden."
That strategy doesn't always work.
Too close for comfort
Lauren Hebert was hiking with her family in Morgan Monroe State Forest when the 8-year-old girl spotted a 5-foot timber rattler right on the trail.
"I was just walking and I saw a timber rattlesnake, and I was like a foot away from stepping on it," said Hebert, the daughter of a WTHR producer. Lauren's father, Thane, said he was just as surprised as his daughter.
"I knew there were snakes here, but I didn't know there were timber rattlesnakes. We all just froze," he said.
Jill and Eric Thompson of Cincinnati didn't know about timber rattlers in Indiana, either – until one visited the Thompsons' campsite at Brown County State Park last summer.
"It crawled up into our site and slithered on in. It was just kind of creepy," said Jill. "I said, ‘Kids, get in the camper!'"
Now the family is back for another week of camping, and their young boys, Zachary and Eli, received some strict instructions.
"The first thing we told them when we pulled into the park was "If you see any animal, back away. And stay clear of the grassy areas, stay on the concrete and stay away from the woods," Jill said.
"We're keeping a little closer to camp than we normally would," Eric added. "We know there are rattlesnakes here, and we're in their habitat now."
Elizabeth Worpell camped at the park two weeks ago with her family, and she photographed a timber rattlesnake as it slithered across a road in front of her. "The snake was about 3-4 feet long and about 4 inches around," she told 13 Investigates.
Officials at Brown County State Park say they want to know when campers encounter a rattlesnake. "We're right on it when a snake is spotted," explained Eagleman. "Alert park staff and we'll temporarily remove the snake from your camping area, then when you vacate, we need to bring it back to that near exact area to release it again."
Minkis questions the practice of returning rattlesnakes close to camp sites, and she believes the DNR should take additional steps to warn park visitors.
"I've accepted the fact that our pet's gone and we're heartbroken about it, but my concern is for the toddlers or the little kids who might not have a pet with them who might be hiking the same trail or a similar trail down there who might unknowingly come upon the same thing," Minkis said. "Why isn't there a greater awareness -- especially in a campground where families and children vacation -- so you can adequately protect yourself?"
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