- Snake, rattlesnake right there. Oh my goodness, look at the size of this snake. Okay, Mario, just get the snake tubes out. This snake can take off
in a burst of speed. Now, that's not the
rattle rattling itself, that is my hand shaking from
holding onto this snake. (upbeat drum music) (dramatic music) The deserts of the Southwest aren't only riddled with dangers, they also have the potential to be deadly. To define danger, I'm talking about spiky
plants, hairy spiders, glowing scorpions and
one very venomous lizard. If I were to define deadly, it would come in the slithering form of Arizona's most commonly
encountered venomous snake, the outlaw viper known as the western diamondback rattlesnake. Tonight, we are exploring a
private stretch of property, eerily located beyond
the looming structure of the Superstition Mountains. What was once a lucrative goldmine has now been reclaimed by the wild, and while I'd love to find
a fortune in golden glory, the only treasure we are
likely to come across here is of the animal kind. When searching for reptilian
predators like rattlesnakes, one of the best things you can
come across are prey species, and this desert is bustling with rodents. So this right here is likely
the home of kangaroo rats. Now a kangaroo rat is something that a rattlesnake will
primarily target for feasting on. If I was a rattlesnake
this is definitely an area that I would hang out, waiting for the rodents to
come up out of the burrow. Once they detect that heat signature, they strike out and inject that venom. So, there's a good chance
we could be hot on the trail of rattlesnake right now. Let's search all through this underbrush and see what we find. You really have to move
slow and methodically through an environment like this. (soft electronic music) So that is a desert rat of some species. It's not a kangaroo rat, but a rodent of that
size is the primary meal for a western diamondback rattlesnake. Of course, up in cholla cactus like that, it's completely safe. You're not gonna ever see a rattlesnake up in a cholla like this. So, well where you see rodents you will definitely find the snakes. All right, let's keep looking. We're getting close, I can feel it. They say that where you find cheese, you will find rats. I always say that where you
find rats, you will find snakes. And boy, do I love being right? Now we're seeing some rocks. What do you think, Mario? This looks a little bit better. Look at this outcrop. Snake, rattlesnake right there! (dramatic music) Holy cow. Look at the size of this. It's a western diamondback. Oh my goodness. Look at the size of this snake! Whoa, I got chills running up
and down my body right now. This scenario is incredibly dangerous. What I want to do is get the
snake up off of these rocks and down into a more controlled situation. Okay. It's just staying completely still. Let's just take a second
to look at that camouflage. I mean, all I saw was the
black and white banding on the tail as we came up over those rocks and immediately I knew rattlesnake. And you want to properly identify whether or not it's a Mojave
or a western diamondback. It's really easy to get the two mixed up. Oh my gosh. I'm so nervous,
my hands are shaking. This is a big, big rattlesnake. This is, wow, I don't even
know if we've got a tube big enough to get the snake into. So this is gonna be great. We're going to get to use
our snake examination tubes. If I can safely get the
snake off of the rocks. All right. The snake is
definitely onto us now. Let's see how he's going to move. Okay. You guys good? All right. I'm going to see if... Okay there's that, look,
it's not even rattling yet. Okay. Now it's beginning
to get into defensive pose. Coming this way. Okay. What I'm gonna do
is try to tail the snake. Got the tail. Got the tail. I'm gonna try to, okay, you ready? I'm gonna try to move it
down here into the sand. Wow. That is a big rattlesnake. This is the biggest western diamondback I think I've ever seen. Okay. Real steady. Okay. I got it. Back up very slowly,
everybody back, back back. - [Cameraman] Watch your footing. - I see it. I see it. Move back. Move back. Ah, okay. Up by this rock here. I want it completely out in the sand. Wow, that is a heavy rattlesnake. It's taking all my strength
to hold it up like that. Okay. Let me see if I can just
get it to sit here in sand. Look at the size of that rattlesnake. Okay, I'm gonna let go of the tail. Real gentle, let's see
if we can get it to coil Nope. It's just going to keep moving. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. There, there. Look at this. Okay. Perfect positioning. Okay, Mario, just set your camera down. Get the snake tubes out. Everybody just watch, this snake can take off
in a burst of speed. I'm going to try to stay in front of it so that it keeps its attention on me. There you go. Keep your
attention right here. The heat-seeking pits, honed in on me saying, okay, don't you get any closer? And trust me, I will not! Getting close to a
sidewinder is one thing. This snake can launch its body forward two thirds its own length. And that is about a four and a half foot western diamondback. So go ahead, hand me the tubes. Now what we're going to try to do here. Mario, I may or may not need
your help, but this is great because we've got these
rocks we can actually use. I want to try to coerce the
snake very gently into the tube. Now what this will do is allow me to actually get hands on with the snake. This is going to put very
little stress on the animal. It's the safest situation
for me, the snake, and for you guys. Okay, here, here, here, take the tongs. My leg is shaking. Leg is shaking. (sighs) Let me just take a deep breath. Now you'll notice that the rattlesnake isn't even rattling at this point. Sometimes they won't. The snake is relying on its camouflage. It doesn't need to warn
us with its rattle. It's basically so confident in its size. And now that it knows it's been spotted, it's like, I don't need to warn you. I simply just need you to back off because-
- There you go. - A bite from this snake. Watch out, watch out, watch out. Let me try again. Come on buddy. There we go. This is good, I'm able to
just keep it in position. Very, very slow movements. That's what we want right there. We want to curl up into a ball like that. Feel comfortable. Feel camouflaged. Let me see if I can place it
just in front of the snake. Put this here. I'm gonna take off my pack. I need as much mobility
as I can possibly get. This is the most
dangerous part right here. This is like the most dangerous
game of desert operation. Look out, look out! - Watch that strike. Watch your hand. Make sure it doesn't go all the way up. Grab it. There we go.
- Got it. (Coyote gasps) Dangerous snake situation under control. Wow. Now I do have to hold onto
the snake with as much power as I possibly can to
keep it locked in place. Okay. This is good. So you see, wow, the snake's
head is almost coming out the front of that tube. Okay. Regain my composure here. Phew! That is an incredibly large
western diamondback rattlesnake. One of the most toxic snake
species in the United States. Look at the size of
that snake. Incredible. When we're talking about rattlesnakes, the most quintessential
thing is the rattle. Look at that. And this is the only way
that you're able to get close to one of these snakes rattles. Now what's interesting about the rattle is that it's made of
keratin, the same thing that makes up your
fingernails and your hair. And these are called buttons. Each individual little section and every time the snake sheds
its skin, a new button forms. Now you can't tell the
age of a rattlesnake based on its buttons,
because as you can see here a piece has definitely broken
off at some point in time. Sometimes it may get stuck on
a stick or in between rocks. The snake keeps slithering and one of those buttons pops off, but that is a beautiful
rattle right there. Now there's nothing
actually inside the rattle. People often think, well
there are little beads inside there that shake around.
(rattle rattles) No, that is just the sound
of the buttons vibrating up against each other. That's not the rattle rattling itself, that is my hand shaking from
holding onto this snake. This is the largest western diamondback I think I have ever
encountered in the wild. An absolute beautiful snake. And one of the most unique
things about all rattlesnakes is this is a new world snake, the most highly evolved
venomous snake on the planet. These are pit vipers. They have heat sensing pits
right in front of their eyes. And they rely on those pits
to sense the heat registry of an animal that's in their environment. Now something like a banded
gecko would not show up, right? Cold-blooded animal. But a kangaroo rat or
perhaps that desert rat that we saw up in the cactus earlier, that is the primary prey target
for a snake of this type. They specialize in eating rodents. Now when they strike their prey, they bite down, inject that venom. Eventually, whatever it
is that they've bitten succumbs to that venom and then the snake has the opportunity to swallow it down. Now like all snakes, this
one has a forked tongue, and that is what the snake uses to smell and taste the environment. They bring that tongue
back into their mouths, run it over the Jacobson's
organ and it tells the snake everything it needs to
know about the environment. If there's a predator
close, if some prey items have moved through, they're
even capable of sensing when the weather is going to change. So this snake knows if a monsoon is getting ready to push in. They're just perfectly
in tune with the desert. The western diamondback
rattlesnake is primarily a nocturnal species, but
people do occasionally stumble upon them in the early
morning or just before sunset. These snakes rely on the
sun to heat up their bodies. So at the end of the day,
they soak up those last rays of the sun and then they head
out for the night to hunt. And they're opportunistic. If something comes close to the snake it will strike out and
seize the opportunity to get that meal. Now, when we're talking about toxicity, this is one of the most venomous snakes in the United States. And it has more so to do
with the size of the snake. The larger the snake is, the
larger the yield of venom. So a rattlesnake of this size can give you a potentially lethal bite. If you were to ever be bitten
by a western diamondback whether it's a baby or
one that's this large, without question, you need
to seek medical attention. Now they do make antivenom for the species and not many people lose
their lives to the snake, but the makeup of the
venom contains hematoxic, cytotoxic and myotoxic venom
so it will cause necrosis and oftentimes people that
are bitten on the foot or the hand end up losing that limb. And the way most bites
happen are an accident. Somebody steps to close to the snake or they see a snake and decide, okay I'm going to try to kill it. I'm gonna harass it. I'm going
to get it out of my yard. The snake then becomes agitated and that's when they will
defend themselves with a strike. In interacting with this snake tonight, by being calm, by remaining
as cool as possible, this snake never even struck once at us, which just shows you this
is not an aggressive animal. It's an animal that simply
wanted to flee the situation. Its first instinct was flight. Let me see if I can get away. At no point did it show
us any sign of aggression? So cool just being this close
to a rattlesnake of this size. I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild. We'll see you on the next adventure. I'm going to just set
the snake right down here in the sand and let it slowly
slither out through the tube. And it's going to disappear
back off into the desert. The western diamondback rattlesnake hails as the pinnacle of snake evolution, yet this perfectly designed
predator has unfortunately been persecuted by humans
out of unnecessary fear. Deadly they are indeed, but
it's important to remind you that nearly all bites
come as a result of people interacting with, harassing or trying to kill these reptiles. If you see a rattlesnake in
the wild follow this advice, leave it alone. In Arizona specifically, you can contact a variety of wildlife removal services or even your local fire department and believe it or not they
will come to your residence, safely remove the snake and relocate it. Rattlesnakes are an important balancer of the desert ecosystem. And the more we understand about them the easier it becomes to accept that they belong as a part of nature. Be smart, be aware of your surroundings. Always admire wildlife
from a safe distance. And I promise that hiking in the desert will be a fun and enjoyable experience. Hey, coyote pack. If you enjoyed this heart racing encounter with the desert's most
notorious rattlesnake, go back and take a look at
one of its strangest rattlers the quick moving sidewinder. And don't forget, subscribe
and click the notification bell so you know, when the next
adventure is about to begin.
