|
National Geographic King Rattler
|
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The mere suggestion of this creature |
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Legendary serpent. |
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Stealthy predator. |
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This king of the rattlesnakes won |
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In truth, his world is one |
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one that we know little about. |
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Look at that! |
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One man has set out to change that |
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Dr. Bruce Means ventures through |
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that went from Georgia |
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A freelance scientist, he is often |
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For 25 years now, |
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the study of North America's |
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Means journeys into this |
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He fears for the fate of |
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the Eastern diamondback rattler, |
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a proud and complex recluse slithering |
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For over 50 years, |
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sometimes barefooted, |
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Where I'm heading |
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There's marsh and muck, |
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there's this paradise |
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and this special creature |
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Diamondbacks are almost |
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Sometimes in the summer, though, |
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you can use the gopher tortoise |
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Pregnant snakes |
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in the long burrows |
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So if you find a tortoise, he can |
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There! There's the gopher tortoise |
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The gopher tortoise shovels out |
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creating a home for hundreds of |
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There's another gopher of sorts, |
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The Florida mouse and its pups. |
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And something we've been |
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Incredibly, this is also the home of |
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A serpent scaled in diamonds, |
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it is among the most highly evolved |
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among the most dangerous, |
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and among the most unlikely roommate |
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The perfect odd couple. |
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Diamondbacks only prey on |
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so the coldblooded tortoise |
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Still, the snake is not harmless and |
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The Eastern diamondback rattlesnake |
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It is the largest rattlesnake |
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This is a singular serpent. |
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Many snakes swim, but few take |
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It seems as at home at sea |
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It is the king of American snakes |
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almost invisible and utterly silent, |
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Its signature, the menacing rattle, |
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The snake's trademark |
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left behind each time |
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They scratch together when shaken. |
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Amazingly, the frequency is the same |
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The rattle evolved in |
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Twelve thousand years ago, |
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a menagerie of strange animals |
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mastodons, lamas and bison, |
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like this one, |
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All are gone now from the region |
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but for this survivor, |
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Having melted into his environment |
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the viper may have evolved a signal |
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Instead of being trampled, the snake |
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Like the snake, |
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So often, it's just the doctor |
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man on snake, |
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I had hoped to be one of the few |
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who studied venomous animals |
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and to say at the end of a career |
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Means didn't get his wish. |
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He suffered his first bite |
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more than two decades ago. |
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Then a few years later, he paddled out |
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off the Florida coast |
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The hazards of meeting up |
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were the furthest thing from his mind. |
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I was wandering through the dune of |
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and I encountered a rattle snake |
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about a three and a half foot, |
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Had my camera, |
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The snake wanted to start fleeing |
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and threw it up into the open, |
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so I got more photographs. |
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And at that point, |
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but for some crazy reason, |
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I decided I wanted to |
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I got in front of the snake, and |
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when it struck at me and I misjudged |
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It could strike |
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And it, one fang got me |
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I looked at my forefinger and there |
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just beginning, a little jewel of red. |
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I thought to myself, |
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When he was bitten in the safety |
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he collapsed in just four minutes, |
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Now, he faced a half mile trek |
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He had no communications and no choice. |
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The scientist in him understood |
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his chances at survival dimmed, |
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because the long march pumped |
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And he knew from his last experience |
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The entire time it took me |
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there was one thing that |
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I kept thinking, "You're gonna do it. |
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Don't let this fear get you. |
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And I set my teeth, I mean, |
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and I said, "I'm gonna do it." |
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As the pain spread, |
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and he still had to paddle |
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separating him from the mainland. |
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Almost 30 minutes had passed. |
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Means knew from experience |
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I had many thoughts of my life |
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and most of all I worried about |
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about what they would think |
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And worst of all, |
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and suppose that I panicked |
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and disappeared and they'd never |
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So I kept that thing in mind, |
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I'm gonna make it." |
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And I get all the way to shore. |
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So when I got on the shore, |
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I couldn't move my legs. |
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I was totally paralyzed |
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I just threw myself over |
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My stuff dumps out into the water. |
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I pull myself out of the boat, |
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it floated off a ways from me. |
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And I literally clawed |
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When I got to the car, I had |
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and my car happened to have |
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but fortunately it opened for me. |
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I dragged myself up into the car, |
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Then I found out I couldn't drive. |
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So I had to grab my right leg, |
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grab my left leg, |
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I pushed the clutch in, |
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And I was able to twist and |
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I kept it in first gear and I tore off |
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not being able to shift, |
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going, "Rrrrrr," down the road. |
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The few minutes it took to drive |
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were an endless nightmare. |
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All I could do is just |
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"Chugchugchug" to a stop, |
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And then I had to let myself down |
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The pain was like salt poured |
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and worse, he was growing |
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No longer able to drag himself |
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he had to roll in order to move, |
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So he plotted a circle across |
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best chance for survival. |
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Means reached his destination only to |
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Nearly an hour had passed |
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since the rattler sank its fangs |
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and now the scientist was discovering |
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Twenty-six vials of antivenin |
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to stem the tide of |
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But the medicine proved |
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because Means was allergic to it. |
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People around me could see |
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a thing called muscular fasciculation. |
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The hair follicles around the mouth |
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and I'm fully bearded |
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My whole face was involved in these |
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which are characteristic of |
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He spent ten days hovering |
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often in intensive care, as |
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But he survived. |
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And less than 24 hours |
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he was back at work, back to |
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What is the allure? |
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Why is Means willing to risk |
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You know, |
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It's at the pinnacle of evolution |
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Apart from its beauty and its mystery, |
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And now, it's at risk. |
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It's actually a very benign creature. |
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It likes to lie coiled up |
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once in a rare while, for a mate. |
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The survival of the Eastern diamondback |
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and on these dwindling |
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a once vast torrent of forest |
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and west from Virginia to Texas. |
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These lofty but threatened woodlands |
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and are the keystone to the |
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The powerful connection between |
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was little understood when Bruce Means |
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The snake was feared and hunted, |
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More than 20 years ago, |
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Means pioneered the use |
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to track the Eastern diamondback's |
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He carefully introduced a harmless, |
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into the sedated snakes, |
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In summer, he combs the forests |
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At this point, sometimes I get |
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They're camouflaged very well |
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I have to be very careful |
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Ah, there it is. Whew! |
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Little head. Whoa! |
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Hello? Who are you? |
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Whoa, is he heavy. |
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This is a big snake, but it's not |
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get the Eastern diamondback. |
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This guy is about four and a half |
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about five and a half |
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They come a lot bigger. |
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A ten pound snake, is not uncommon, |
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And I've known of 12 and 13 pound |
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The next thing I need to do is be sure |
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and also that I am careful not |
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so I'll partially narcotize him |
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and it'll take about five minutes |
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I'm not going to put him entirely out. |
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And then we can work with him. |
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Let's see how he's doing. Yeah. |
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What is important here is |
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for me to work with him |
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which you see him lying |
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Now he's not out. |
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I have to be quite careful with him, |
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but he's probably out sufficiently for |
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Alright, notice he's not thrashing. |
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He would be doing that were |
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So the first thing I do is |
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and he is 120 millimeters |
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And his tail now that rattling |
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he's quickly coming out of his |
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So it's 1200 millimeters in length |
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that's about 10 percent of the body |
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Females have about 10 percent |
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This is a young snake. |
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This animal may only be |
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That's amazing. |
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A lot of people don't realize a snake |
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But this one's probably just |
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Could you imagine what one twice |
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The Eastern diamondback |
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really represents the epitome |
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And there are several reasons for that. |
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One is that it has this remarkable |
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which is an advancement among snakes. |
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Another, of course, is this elaborate |
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The venom is a complex liqueur having |
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8 to 10 and, |
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Each one of those proteins |
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Many of them are enzymes. |
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They break down the tissue or |
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it actually has quite a bit of nerve |
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So the initial use that the venom |
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so it doesn't go too far away |
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The snake employs its fierce weapons |
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And it strikes with lightening speed. |
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Its jaws are lashed by sinew |
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that snap open the fangs |
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Sacks similar to salivary glands |
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through hollow channels |
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Though the bite is instantaneous, |
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to force a lethal dose |
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After locating its prey, the snake |
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And it always starts with the head. |
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First one half of the jaw, |
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then the other walk along |
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Small sharp teeth in the palate |
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sliding over the food, pulling it in. |
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The body moves forward |
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as muscles in the throat |
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A full grown snake could survive |
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on three or four lunches |
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Though bitten and nearly killed |
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Means says his research makes plain |
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the snake doesn't deserve |
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The Eastern diamondback rattlesnake |
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A lot of people might think that. |
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They rely on several mechanisms |
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The first is camouflage. |
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There's a rattlesnake close by. |
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Normally you can't see the snake, |
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but he's hidden in the grass |
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so the rattlesnake is not rattling. |
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And they don't want to rattle |
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because they don't want to |
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Human beings will go over and kill it. |
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But watch what happens |
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and it perceives that I'm aware of it, |
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you can hear it rattling. |
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This snake doesn't have a huge rattle |
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In fact, he's not rattling a lot. |
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This is a very complacent animal. |
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I might have to be a little |
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You see that he's orienting to me, |
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his head's turning. |
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Oh, this guy's quite complacent. |
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He can stick and reach me |
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Now if I back away from him, |
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he'll stop rattling, |
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Generally, they rely on camouflage. |
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Interestingly, I touched |
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it did jump, but it still |
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And it'll probably strike |
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Look at that. It did sort of |
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This is sort of the common, average |
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Some will strike, |
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They're not the sinister animal |
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And they by no means chase people. |
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They don't go after you. |
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So how can you loathe an animal |
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that really doesn't have dirty deeds |
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August is a brief but crucial passage |
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Males are on the move now trailing |
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More than ever, the males are out |
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The females are less restless |
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awaiting a mate or preparing to give |
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Birds of prey are the curse of |
| 00:25:55 |
From the treetops, a red-tailed hawk |
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A pregnant diamondback, |
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maturing inside her body, |
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Sensing danger overhead |
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and the pregnant rattler |
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The hawk is undaunted and |
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Its talons over fangs. |
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The hawk dances gingerly |
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The victor shrouds |
| 00:27:27 |
For this rattler, |
| 00:27:48 |
The gopher tortoise's |
| 00:27:50 |
is both a safe haven and a refuge. |
| 00:27:57 |
The tunnel usually slopes |
| 00:28:02 |
but an ambitious turtle |
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Over time, as many as 350 creatures |
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The gopher frog calls this hole |
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Like the tortoise, it's cold blooded |
| 00:28:32 |
The sheepish looking gesture is really |
| 00:28:43 |
The barging gopher tortoise leaves |
| 00:28:52 |
He bulldozes past the other tenants |
| 00:28:54 |
who are preparing to head out |
| 00:29:14 |
Though the turtle's tunnel is |
| 00:29:17 |
the warm-blooded Florida Mouse |
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occupies a one room apartment |
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It's tiny, keyhole sized entryway |
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Though coming and going is |
| 00:29:35 |
she and the snake tend to keep |
| 00:29:39 |
The diamondback usually hunts by day |
| 00:29:53 |
In the warmest months, |
| 00:29:55 |
the Eastern diamondback may stay out |
| 00:30:05 |
Instead, it will find a spot to |
| 00:30:28 |
As the orange light of day |
| 00:30:31 |
the diamondback nestles motionless |
| 00:30:37 |
Rattlers are ambush hunters, |
| 00:30:48 |
A family of squirrels ventures |
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unaware of the deadly |
| 00:31:45 |
The fleeing squirrel |
| 00:31:50 |
No matter where the squirrel dies, |
| 00:31:58 |
I know when I was bitten, |
| 00:32:02 |
As big as I am, I had a chance. |
| 00:32:05 |
But for a small creature like the |
| 00:32:12 |
How the snake tracks its wounded prey |
| 00:32:17 |
Means thinks a stricken animal |
| 00:32:21 |
a unique signature |
| 00:32:35 |
Food goes down headfirst, so the feet |
| 00:32:53 |
The diamondback gets its meal, |
| 00:33:00 |
and there will be no more tales |
| 00:33:20 |
The diamondback brought a subtle |
| 00:33:23 |
with the squirrel, a sixth sense, |
| 00:33:29 |
Means wants to understand the world |
| 00:33:35 |
The growing tip of |
| 00:33:39 |
That's interesting. |
| 00:33:42 |
A pioneer in research, he has embarked |
| 00:33:47 |
He uses a thermal camera to reveal |
| 00:33:54 |
a world of heat radiating |
| 00:34:07 |
Here is my imprint of my hand, |
| 00:34:12 |
where you can see nothing |
| 00:34:15 |
It's absolutely different. |
| 00:34:19 |
Now for an experiment, I have |
| 00:34:26 |
Good morning you cute little rat. |
| 00:34:29 |
Are you ready to be a star? |
| 00:34:32 |
We're gonna put him down |
| 00:34:33 |
to see what he looks like |
| 00:34:39 |
Alright, Mr. Rat, wander around. |
| 00:34:44 |
Whoa! |
| 00:34:50 |
The thermal camera dramatically shows |
| 00:34:53 |
how heat from the warm-blooded mouse |
| 00:35:03 |
While no one knows what the snake |
| 00:35:07 |
the camera offers visual evidence |
| 00:35:11 |
in hunting warm-blooded prey. |
| 00:35:17 |
For the Eastern diamondback, |
| 00:35:33 |
Lightning is as common to Florida |
| 00:35:37 |
and the bolts become firebrands |
| 00:35:46 |
The snake depends on these fires, |
| 00:35:49 |
because they sustain |
| 00:35:51 |
the diamondback's principal habitat. |
| 00:35:55 |
Fire burns out underbrush, |
| 00:36:17 |
The diamondback is well adapted |
| 00:36:21 |
and seeks refuge from the flames. |
| 00:36:33 |
This cotton mouth was not so lucky. |
| 00:36:41 |
There are the quick and the dead |
| 00:37:02 |
After the fire, a mosaic of ash |
| 00:37:09 |
A turtle navigates the embers |
| 00:37:35 |
Within a few days, fresh greens |
| 00:37:40 |
and new palmetto sprays |
| 00:37:46 |
This is the miracle of |
| 00:37:50 |
Here the role of fire is not to kill; |
| 00:38:11 |
Even tortoises seem to sprout |
| 00:38:20 |
newborns hungry for the green shoots. |
| 00:38:44 |
August in the piney woods |
| 00:38:49 |
And the pregnant diamondback |
| 00:38:54 |
A month before labor |
| 00:38:57 |
feeding stops, movement stops |
| 00:39:10 |
Labor lasts 12 exhausting hours, |
| 00:39:13 |
as she gives birth to a clutch of |
| 00:39:23 |
Though the young are carried |
| 00:39:27 |
they hatch from sacks identical to eggs |
| 00:39:31 |
but without the finishing touch |
| 00:39:40 |
From the beginning, young rattlers |
| 00:39:45 |
and soon bear the first button of |
| 00:39:51 |
Conventional wisdom says snakes |
| 00:39:55 |
But Means believes |
| 00:39:59 |
The mother stays close to the clutch |
| 00:40:04 |
although the reason may |
| 00:40:15 |
Deadly as the diamondback may be, |
| 00:40:21 |
Few survive their first year, |
| 00:40:28 |
even from other snakes. |
| 00:40:34 |
The kingsnake is known as |
| 00:40:38 |
a constrictor that kills |
| 00:40:56 |
Tongue flicks sample the air. |
| 00:41:10 |
The diamondback senses a dangerous foe |
| 00:41:34 |
The kingsnake gets its name |
| 00:41:38 |
and it's immune to |
| 00:41:43 |
Pinning the diamondback |
| 00:41:46 |
it crushes its victim, |
| 00:42:15 |
It leaves the trophy till last. |
| 00:42:38 |
More treacherous than the snake's |
| 00:42:45 |
While against the law, practices |
| 00:42:57 |
Hunters are paid $10 a foot for |
| 00:43:05 |
Outwitted, the rattler is lured into |
| 00:43:09 |
with its last line of defense. |
| 00:43:20 |
The hunter listens |
| 00:43:32 |
A spray of gasoline chokes the burrow. |
| 00:43:40 |
The snake is desperate |
| 00:43:45 |
and abandons the sanctuary of the |
| 00:44:02 |
The burrow that had harbored so much |
| 00:44:08 |
No one knows how long the gas |
| 00:44:13 |
If the snakes are not killed outright, |
| 00:44:18 |
many are brought to |
| 00:44:22 |
which have been entertaining |
| 00:44:27 |
It's 39 years we've had this roundup. |
| 00:44:30 |
It's a way of controlling |
| 00:44:32 |
And I don't really know if it has |
| 00:44:34 |
but we seem to get a lot of |
| 00:44:37 |
Each year, Eastern diamondbacks |
| 00:44:41 |
that attract crowds as large as 25,000. |
| 00:44:44 |
That's essentially a diamond there. |
| 00:44:48 |
Yeah, we come up here |
| 00:44:50 |
They tell us they're really good. |
| 00:44:52 |
Yeah, you know |
| 00:44:53 |
Then I said take the alligator too. |
| 00:44:59 |
People want to cook them, |
| 00:45:02 |
They even want their venom, which |
| 00:45:05 |
for medical researchers. |
| 00:45:12 |
Means attends roundups to take a head |
| 00:45:16 |
trying to gauge the impact these |
| 00:45:21 |
The snakes are treated badly. |
| 00:45:23 |
They're exploited for money, |
| 00:45:25 |
then killed, with no thought for them |
| 00:45:32 |
Worse than the roundup, says Means, |
| 00:45:36 |
Hides become fashion. |
| 00:45:39 |
It is an ironic end |
| 00:45:42 |
the magical camouflage |
| 00:45:46 |
now calls attention to its wearer. |
| 00:45:50 |
This is out of control and needs |
| 00:45:54 |
Even alligators are licensed |
| 00:45:57 |
But dead diamondbacks, |
| 00:46:03 |
Roundups give people |
| 00:46:08 |
The truth is these snakes are |
| 00:46:12 |
People need to realize the value of |
| 00:46:15 |
This is already a snake |
| 00:46:30 |
But roundups and snake skin |
| 00:46:35 |
Humans keep upping the ante |
| 00:46:38 |
and dangers are everywhere. |
| 00:46:41 |
In the summer, hot highways become |
| 00:46:45 |
burning barriers, cutting the snake |
| 00:46:56 |
Little more than two percent of the |
| 00:47:01 |
Humanity's pattern of destruction, |
| 00:47:08 |
by regiments of future two by fours, |
| 00:47:15 |
slashed apart by highways, |
| 00:47:22 |
the leftovers of development. |
| 00:47:25 |
There may not be enough land left |
| 00:47:30 |
let alone provide a future. |
| 00:47:41 |
And as the snake goes, |
| 00:47:49 |
What the diamondback needs |
| 00:47:52 |
more public relations, some fans. |
| 00:47:56 |
One of the roundups in the Eastern |
| 00:47:59 |
of this very sort of thing. |
| 00:48:01 |
They don't even call it |
| 00:48:03 |
because they do not roundup snakes. |
| 00:48:05 |
It's called a festival. |
| 00:48:07 |
And they are very frightened |
| 00:48:08 |
If you come across one, |
| 00:48:10 |
shake his tail, |
| 00:48:12 |
And they put emphasis on |
| 00:48:15 |
They have just as many people |
| 00:48:18 |
They'll crawl down in there |
| 00:48:20 |
with the turtle and just stay there. |
| 00:48:21 |
Every now and then something |
| 00:48:23 |
he'll run down the hole, he'll get |
| 00:48:25 |
These civic organizations that are |
| 00:48:29 |
in the communities generate just |
| 00:48:32 |
that put the accent on beautization |
| 00:49:01 |
It may be that it's already too late |
| 00:49:07 |
While well adapted to |
| 00:49:10 |
the torments of humans are |
| 00:49:16 |
Means fears that before we fully |
| 00:49:20 |
in the environment, it may be gone. |
| 00:49:24 |
But even he acknowledges |
| 00:49:26 |
have found some surprising ways |
| 00:49:44 |
Florida's torrents flood the lowlands |
| 00:49:54 |
Even the tortoise goes with the flow, |
| 00:50:05 |
The hazards of the deep abound. |
| 00:50:15 |
Carried along on the stream, |
| 00:50:17 |
the hard-pressed animals take |
| 00:50:30 |
Means believes the snake's |
| 00:50:35 |
Swimming makes it mobile. |
| 00:50:39 |
Streams become highways, |
| 00:50:43 |
caused by development, |
| 00:50:48 |
and these streams sometimes |
| 00:50:54 |
The Eastern diamondback island hops. |
| 00:50:57 |
It's been found way out as far as |
| 00:51:01 |
That's about 120 miles |
| 00:51:06 |
This could be the snake's salvation, |
| 00:51:09 |
the islands are prime real estate |
| 00:51:17 |
Propelled far and fast |
| 00:51:21 |
the diamondbacks become pilgrims |
| 00:51:32 |
Where the snake's habitat |
| 00:51:36 |
the flood carries survivors |
| 00:51:40 |
their distant island, |
| 00:51:52 |
Still, on his own, |
| 00:51:57 |
studying the snakes |
| 00:52:02 |
The Eastern diamondback is likely |
| 00:52:06 |
It has a special role in nature |
| 00:52:08 |
and it won't take much for it |
| 00:52:12 |
The snake simply needs a place |
| 00:52:24 |
Even after 25 years of research, |
| 00:52:27 |
Means says his efforts |
| 00:52:31 |
What's clear is that the snake |
| 00:52:35 |
both as predator and prey. |
| 00:52:39 |
Means's aim is to help us know |
| 00:52:46 |
It's my greatest wish that |
| 00:52:50 |
I'll still be able to |
| 00:52:52 |
and see the |
| 00:52:54 |
I hope that continues. |
| 00:53:00 |
Bruce Means reminds us |
| 00:53:03 |
may be more than a threat, |
| 00:53:05 |
that it may have a deeper meaning, |
| 00:53:12 |
"Don't tread on me." |
