16/07/2025
Happy World Snake Day! Did you know that rattlesnakes, while often misunderstood and feared, are critically important? 🐍👀
Rattlesnakes have an important role in the food web as both a predator and a prey item. Not only do they help control pest populations, but rattlesnakes and other types of snakes are a food source that other animals like birds of prey, wading birds, and even other snakes depend on! 🦅🐁
Rattlesnakes offer ecological benefits, too. One team of researchers from the University of California at Berkeley found that rattlesnakes are seed dispersers who save seeds that would otherwise be lost. This is great news for the birds, bats, bees, and even the small mammals and rodents that depend on the microhabitat that saved seeds help to create. 🌱🌻🐝
Additionally, rattlesnakes remove disease vectors and rodent-bourne illnesses from their environment through their natural predation! One study from the University of Maryland found that a single timber rattlesnake can remove up to 4,500 ticks annually! 😮
Finally, did you know that rattlesnake venom could save your life? Venom is a complex, bioactive substance that is varied from species to species, and even within different populations of the same species. It's composed of countless combinations of enzymes, proteins, peptides, and molecules that are continuously evolving alongside the rest of nature and cannot easily be reproduced in a lab. It's used in research and in medicine! In fact, the life-saving drug Integrilin (Eptifibatide) is made from a protein that was discovered in the venom of the Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake - and it's just one of many treatments available made from venom! 🩺💊💉
This year, we’re so excited to be a part of the inaugural snake week in celebration of world snake day! Be sure to check out our upcoming event and many others at: snakeweek.org
