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44049
Most rattlesnake bites happen because of pure and simple harrasment or carelessly not watching where you step. They aren't likely to bite someone just for walking near them. You almost have to stomp on them to get them to bite. Most bites in the US are also alcohol related incidents...surprise surprise. "Hey Bubba hold my beer and watch this" .... (most common last words)....aside from venom yeild and toxicity...probably the most dangerous rattlesnake as far as aggressive behaviour and likely to lash out in anxiety is an eastern diamondback. Mojave rattlesnakes may have a more lethal dose....but you have to factor in what snakes are living in more populated areas. Timbers/canebrakes are very docile but blend in with the leaf litter here along the wooded eastern seaboard and are as common around human dwellings as they are in remote wooded areas...They get stepped on alot too. All rattlesnakes other than the pigmys carry a potential lethal dose but deaths are rare. an envenonmation from a crotalus bite however leaves an everlasting reminder...nasty scars from necrosis and/or loss of limb or nerve damage. I'm not exactly sure how anyone can get tagged by a coralsnake though...they all seem to be rather docile and can seemingly be free handled without incident unrestrained...I am assuming there is a "stupidity" factor as is the case with any other hot. Probably the biggest factor with coralsnakes is that they almost have to be hunted to be found. You don't just happen up on them like you do rattlesnakes...they prefer to spend most of their time in rotten logs or in deep compost leaf litter. Where rattlesnakes are often found out on the open ground where hikers or gardeners may step on them before they see or hear anything. Of all the pitvipers in the US, the copperhead is the most likely to bite you just for being within strike range. They blend in... they do not like to be stepped on and they are snippy AND they love to get in flowerbeds and wood piles. They are by far the most plentiful venomous snake in North America and by far inflict the most envenomating bites. Lucky for us their bite doesn't pack the punch that some of the rattlers or even their very close cousin the cottonmouth does....anyway....I think this has all gotten way off the subject ....No coralsnakes are not extinct....far from it but because of their secretive lifestyle, an accurate guess at a census count or even the full range of where all they dwell may never be known or fully recorded.
[addsig]
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