How well do timber rattlers swim?
Today's Washington Post reported that the state of Massachusetts plans to establish a sanctuary for timber rattlesnakes on an off-limits 1,400 acre island in the Quabbin Resevoir, 65 miles west of Boston. The reservoir is the largest body of water in Massachusetts.
There are only 200 timber rattlesnakes left in Massachusetts "in five scattered pockets from Greater Boston to the Berkshires". The fear is that they could disappear from the state because of loss of habitat and being killed by humans.
How well do these snakes swim?
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/10995. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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For what I have known, Crotalus horridus, The Timber Rattlesnake does not swim well. Its not a water snake, though its appearance may resemble other water snakes found in its habitat. An inexperienced person may easily confuse between them.
The only reason I think the authorities have preferred that particular area as a potential habitat for a sanctuary of Timber Rattlesnake is that they prefer exactly that sort of a habitat: moist, lowland forests or hilly woodlands or thickets near permanent water sources such as rivers, lakes, ponds, streams and swamps.
This particular website has good piece of information if you care about them and want to know more.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/10998. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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