I've walked all over them, only to discover their presence when they crawled away. They usually only strike for two reasons; to eat, and to defend. People and animals get bitten when they piss em off.
This. The vast majority of encounters between rattlesnakes and humans end with the human never knowing he'd just had an encounter, and the vast majority of rattlesnake bites on humans are below the knee or below the elbow... look at it from the snake's point of view...you're like 5000 times bigger than he is, he can't eat you and he can't whip you. He's got no truck with you, he just doesn't want to be stepped on or messed with.
"and the vast majority of rattlesnake bites on humans are below the knee or below the elbow..." While this can probably be said of most other venomous species, as well, some, like a moccasin, will often go out of their way to get IN your way, and others, like a copperhead, are simply quick biters, often not bothering to wait to be sure you're not going to step on them or mess with them before striking.
Well behaved women never make history.~ Out back Quit laughing...I think I broke something.
Fifteen is my limit on Schnitzen-Gruben, Baby...
I have OCD and ADD, so everything has to be perfect, but only for a minute.
