|
Don't kill Massasauga rattlers, urges
curator:[Final Edition] |
|
Author(s): |
Ian
Bailey |
|
Dateline: |
TORONTO |
|
Section: |
OUR PLANET |
|
Publication
title: |
The
Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ont.: May 31, 1992. pg. E.4 |
|
Source
Type: |
Newspaper |
|
ISSN/ISBN: |
08393222 |
|
ProQuest
document ID: |
179740211 |
|
Text
Word Count |
903 |
|
Article
URL: |
|
Abstract (Article Summary) |
|
Canada is home
to three types of rattlesnakes, but only the Massasauga is considered an
endangered species. (The others are the prairie rattlesnake, found mainly in
Alberta and pockets of Saskatchewan, and the northern Pacific rattler, found
in British Columbia.) Massasauga
fangs can pierce a human finger to the bone while releasing venom that
disrupts the body's ability to heal the wound. Untreated, the bite can become
dangerously infected, and the pain of a bite can send a person into shock. If approached
by humans, the Massasauga rattles its tail as a warning. Other Ontario
snakes, including the milk and fox snakes, will also vibrate their tails
although they have no rattles. |
|
Full Text (903 words) |
||
|
(Copyright The Ottawa Citizen) Sidebar
headlined "Facts about the Massasauga" attached to end of article TORONTO --
When Bob Johnson holds a seminar on the eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, he
usually releases one of the venomous creatures near his audience. The Massasauga
could sink its fangs into the nearest limb, but that hasn't happened since
Johnson began meeting with cottagers three years ago. ''(It) just
curls up, gets its bearings and heads for the nearest shelter, which is away
from people,'' says Johnson, curator of reptiles and amphibians at the Metro
Toronto Zoo. With the
coming of summer, Johnson and other naturalists are concerned that
Massasaugas will be killed by cottagers and hikers exploring the few areas of
Ontario where the snakes still live. Canada is home
to three types of rattlesnakes, but only the Massasauga is considered an
endangered species. (The others are the prairie rattlesnake, found mainly in
Alberta and pockets of Saskatchewan, and the northern Pacific rattler, found
in British Columbia.) The Massasauga
is protected by regulations in Ontario -- the only province where it's found
-- that set a maximum $25,000 fine for killing one. Various
walruses, whales and owls are also endangered, but observers admit the
Massasauga has two strikes against it in efforts to win public sympathy: it's
a snake and it's dangerous. Massasauga
fangs can pierce a human finger to the bone while releasing venom that
disrupts the body's ability to heal the wound. Untreated, the bite can become
dangerously infected, and the pain of a bite can send a person into shock. But Johnson
and others, including the Canadian branch of the World Wildlife Fund, argue
Massasaugas aren't aggressive. ''They will
only bite you if you step on them or if they are terribly frightened,'' says
Johnson. ''If you pick up a chipmunk or raccoon, the same thing will
happen.'' A 1991 federal
report on Massasaugas said the last person killed by one was a nine-year-old
girl bitten in 1962. Massasaugas
are found in Ontario along the shores of Georgian Bay, in pockets near
Windsor and Port Colborne, along Lake Erie, and on the Bruce Peninsula, which
stretches into Lake Huron from Owen Sound. They also turn
up on the 59 islands of the Georgian Bay Islands National Park, but warden
Michel Villeneuve says encounters are sporadic. ''We have
visitors who have come here for 30 years but have never seen them, but we
also have people who come in and see one right away.'' Three people
have been bitten in the last dozen years -- two of them children who picked
up Massasaugas -- but all recovered at area hospitals, which keep supplies of
antivenene. The most
convenient way to examine a Massasauga is at the Metro Toronto Zoo, which has
two in a display that mimics a small patch of forest floor. The skin of
these Massasaugas is greyish-brown and covered with hourglass designs. Their
eyes and rattles are coffee-colored, and their dark tongues flash from
arrowhead-shaped heads. No one is
going to fall in love with Massasaugas after watching them at the zoo, but
they seem smaller -- the average adult is 50 to 70 centimetres long -- and
less sinister than expected. Keeper Andrea
Beatson doesn't lose sleep over the thought of dealing with the snakes. ''You really
have to go to a lot of trouble to get them to bite you,'' says Beatson, who
goes into the display weekly to leave three dead mice for each snake. Johnson
focuses his seminars on cottagers, inviting them to the zoo or visiting
groups of them, bringing along a Massasauga for company. Jerry
Strickland, executive director of the Ontario Cottagers Association, laughs
while recalling how Johnson released his rattler near the organization's
executive, who were sitting at a table during their 1991 meeting. ''They cringed
and pulled their legs back, but he made his point,'' he says. Don Kerr went
to a zoo session and enjoyed the opportunity to get better acquainted with a
snake he's been seeing for years around his Bruce Peninsula cottage. ''I treasure
the experience,'' says Kerr. ''It's a philosophical thing. A magnificent set
of genes has been arranged to produce this animal.'' These may not
be cute creatures, but Johnson says humans have no right to get rid of them. ''People go to
the north for a wilderness experience that includes loons on the lakes and
sunsets, but it's a package that includes snakes. ''We don't
have the right to pick and choose how we manipulate that package.'' Habitat:
Prefers swampy and wetland areas, but may be found in wooded uplands in
summer. Characteristics:
Young snakes are equipped with fangs and venom at birth, although they don't
always release venom when they bite. Bitten prey die from severe internal
bleeding. If approached
by humans, the Massasauga rattles its tail as a warning. Other Ontario
snakes, including the milk and fox snakes, will also vibrate their tails
although they have no rattles. Food: Mice,
frogs, small birds, other snakes. Venom
treatment: Humans are treated with an antivenene made by treating horses with
small doses of venom, then distilling into a serum the antibodies that the
animals produce. Advice for
avoiding Massasauga bites: Wear hiking
boots. Don't reach or
step where you cannot see. If you hear a
rattle, back away from the sound. If bitten,
bandage the wound and get to a hospital. "}
Credit: CP |