One my last hike into a new set of trails in the Gothe State Forest, I had a little minor adventure. I hiked about 2 1/2 miles all together and about half way through, I noticed a snake on the path. I approached slowly and as quietly as possible, but it still noticed me and moved into the brush. The area had some low ground cover, so the snake thought it was out of sight. Unfortunately for it, the tail was still on the path, so I continued to approach slowly and quietly. By that point I could see by the tail that the snake was an Eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus). When I got within about 15 feet of the snake, I could see its head just above the ground cover watching me. That was as close as I had any desire to get, so I stopped and took the photo above with my long telephoto lens. As I tried to change position (still keeping a good distance between me and the snake), I guess it felt threatened. It coiled one part of its body under itself and raised its head into a position to strike. I quickly snapped the photo below and I walked back up the path. As soon as I began to back away, it uncoiled and quickly moved off into the brush.

There are two reasons for me to tell this story (besides it being an interesting experience). First, all wildlife should be approached with caution whether it is considered dangerous or not. It was not my intention to frighten this animal when I shifted positions, and when I knew from its behavior that I had, I quickly backed away. All wildlife should be respected and we always need to realize that we are in their world. They shouldn’t be disturbed or harassed in order to get photos. Second, this animal, like many others reacted to what it saw as a threat with an aggressive stance. Please keep in mind that it didn’t want to attack me, but only to defend itself. It much preferred to run away, which it did as soon as it no longer felt threatened. This is almost always what wildlife wants to do. People usually only get hurt if they persist in pressuring the animal, or if they frighten or harm it. I know many people who would have tried to kill this snake just because of what it is. I think a much better solution is just to let it alone. Then it will let you alone.