Current:Home > FinanceWebcam monitors hundreds of rattlesnakes at a Colorado ‘mega den’ for citizen science -CoinMarket
Webcam monitors hundreds of rattlesnakes at a Colorado ‘mega den’ for citizen science
View
Date:2025-04-13 12:45:52
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — They creep, slither and slide over and around each other by the dozen and now there’s a webcam so that anybody can watch them online at any time, even at night.
A “mega den” with as many as 2,000 rattlesnakes isn’t top binge-watching for many people. But it’s a viewing bonanza for scientists and other snake enthusiasts whose observations are helping to broaden understanding of these unusual — and undeservedly maligned — reptiles.
The remote site on private land in northern Colorado is on a hillside full of rock crevices where the snakes can keep warm and hide from predators.
“This is a big, big den for rattlesnakes. This is one of the biggest ones we know of,” Emily Taylor, a California Polytechnic State University biology professor leading the Project RattleCam research, said Tuesday.
The Cal Poly researchers set up the webcam in May, working off their knowledge from a previous webcam they set up at a rattlesnake den in California. The exact location in Colorado is kept secret to discourage snake lovers — or haters — away, Taylor said.
The high-elevation Colorado rattlesnakes take refuge in the den for winter and emerge in the spring for a short season of activity compared to rattlesnakes in the Southwest. This time of year, only pregnant female snakes are at the den while males and not-pregnant females move into the lower country nearby.
In August, the babies will be born. They’re called pups and, unlike nearly all other reptiles, they do not hatch from eggs but are born alive.
Also unlike other snakes, rattlesnake mothers care for their young, protecting them against predators and shielding them with their bodies. Sometimes rattlesnakes even care for the young of others.
“Rattlesnakes are actually really good mothers. People don’t know that,” Taylor said.
A webcam helps scientists observe snake behavior without interfering. Meanwhile, people watching online tip off scientists to events they miss, or clue them in with their own knowledge about the local environment.
“It truly is a group effort, a community science effort, that we couldn’t do on our own as scientists,” Taylor said.
Now and then, there’s drama.
Red-tailed hawks circle above, awaiting a chance to swoop in for a meal. Once a magpie — a relative of crows with black, white and blue coloring and a long tail — caught a baby rattlesnake.
When it rains, the rattlesnakes coil up and catch water to drink from the cups formed by their bodies.
Taylor expects a surge in activity after the pups are born — then even more in September as snakes return from surrounding areas in preparation for winter.
Rattlesnakes get a bum rap as creepy and threatening. But the webcam shows they’re social animals that don’t go out of their way to be aggressive, Taylor pointed out.
“I try to speak up for the underdog and to show people that rattlesnakes have this other side that’s really worthy of our admiration,” said Taylor.
___
LaFleur reported from Dallas.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- GOP convention protests are on despite shooting at Trump rally
- First Tulsa Race Massacre victim from mass graves identified as World War I veteran after letter from 1936 found
- Watch as Biden briefs reporters after Trump rally shooting: 'No place in America for this'
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- As a Nevada Community Fights a Lithium Mine, a Rare Fish and Its Haven Could Be an Ace in the Hole
- GoFundMe for Corey Comperatore, Trump rally shooting victims raises over $4M
- Search suspended for pilot and passenger after tour helicopter crash off Hawaii’s Kauai island
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Biden says he's directing an independent review of Trump assassination attempt, will address nation from Oval Office Sunday night
Ranking
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- First Tulsa Race Massacre victim from mass graves identified as World War I veteran after letter from 1936 found
- Trump's family reacts to assassination attempt: 'I love you Dad'
- Greg Sankey keeps door cracked to SEC expansion with future of ACC uncertain
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2024 Deals That Are Sure To Sell Out: Shop Le Creuset, UGG, Longchamp & More
- Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2024 Deals That Are Sure To Sell Out: Shop Le Creuset, UGG, Longchamp & More
- Panel recommends removing ex-chancellor from Wisconsin college faculty post for making porn videos
Recommendation
A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
Judge removed from long-running gang and racketeering case against rapper Young Thug and others
Fans without tickets enter stadium before Copa America final; people receive treatment
Battered by Hurricane Idalia last year, Florida village ponders future as hurricane season begins
Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
James B. Sikking, 'Hill Street Blues' and 'Doogie Howser, M.D.' actor, dies at 90
On Mac and Cheese Day, a look at how Kraft’s blue box became a pantry staple
Panel recommends removing ex-chancellor from Wisconsin college faculty post for making porn videos
Like
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Ex-classmate of Trump rally shooter describes him as normal boy, rejected from high school rifle team
- RNC Day 1: Here's what to expect as the RNC kicks off in Milwaukee after Trump assassination attempt