Caption Contest #3

Your caption here.

Yes, that is a timber rattlesnake I am holding, halfway stuck into a tube. Yes, my eyes are closed. Yes, I have a mustache in this photo. I'll explain more tomorrow. For now, send in your clever captions, blogzillas. A fabulous prize to the winner!

Timber Rattlesnake at Shawnee

Today I went out into Shawnee State Forest in southernmost Ohio, with a group lead by Doug Wynn. Doug is a high school teacher from Columbus, who is also a longtime rattlesnake researcher and recognized expert. He uses radio telemetry to track timber rattlesnakes. Shawnee is the last Ohio stronghold of this poisonous snake.

I'll tell the entire story about our snake hunt in a post in the near future. For now, I'll share with you a short video of one of the snakes Doug recently caught and marked with an embedded microchip. This female is set to be re-released into the wild soon.

Even though I was a good six feet away from the snake, it still gave me chills to see it rattling in a coiled pose.