Rattlers Found Near Paintball Play Area

[ClankySubset]

There's danger where some of us like to play. A northwest side neighbor has found a nest of rattlesnakes in an area folks have been using for fun and games.

As the weather heats up, the snakes come out to play and a couple of them to mate.

Shortly before noon, two snakes are sheltered underneath a rock. One of them, while it's not rattling, appears ready to strike.

Not far from the snakes, a bike trail ends.

Kelly Dewey and his friends were in for a few surprises while playing paintball recently, near piles of debris along the Santa Cruz River.

"We walked up to the mound of rocks over there, and that's when we've saw eight," Dewey recalled, "eight in one day, and they're all real big ones."

As Dewey and his friends discovered, no matter how alert they are, venomous rattlers are tough to spot, because they blend in so well with their surroundings.

"Just last week, a friend stepped right over it. He didn't even see it."

Captain Adam Goldberg of Northwest Fire and Rescue says the snakes we saw are far enough away from homes so they don't threaten neighborhoods. But whether you're hiking far from home or just wandering around the yard, it pays to take a moment to look carefully before stepping or reaching.

However, people who rummage through piles of debris hunting for snakes would do better to leave them be.

"They're going to want to play with it," explains Goldberg. "They're going to want to see what it does. They're going to try to make it rattle. Leave the snakes alone. You're asking for trouble."

Dewey agrees. He suggests paintballers find safer places to play, or be prepared to come face to face with a rattler, who won't blink.

Source: http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp...8&nav=14RTY2td

[Jtpaintball]

i hate snakes, with a passion.