Hunting: Hidden amongst the lichens and mosses on a rock barren is a small segmented body. Appearing like a larval firefly, it twitches every so often. The movement catches the attention of a small bird who swoops down to investigate. The insect continues moving, and as the bird gets closer to bite it’s next meal, the gaping mouth of a snake explodes from behind the bushes. This was no insect but rather the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘤. 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴), a species known to use its tail, not only to warn predators, but also as a lure to attract unsuspecting prey. Small mammals and birds make up the majority of their diet with lizards being opportunistic prey. Juveniles and neonates tend to feed on similar, albeit smaller prey, with the addition of frogs. Caudal luring, using their tail as bait, is not always their hunting strategy, often times, they will smell out the game trail of a small rodent and wait along it in ambush. Being a thick-bodies snake, they save energy by not chasing or actively pursuing prey.
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Venom and First Aid: Massasauga rattlesnakes are often reluctant to bite and even when a bite does occurs, ~25% are dry bites without venom, as venom can be costly to produce and is prioritized for prey animals as it’s primarily used for digestion. This venom is a cocktail of toxins including; metalloproteinases, L-amino acid oxidase and phospholipase A2 enzymes. These help cause hemorrhaging, tissue necrosis and in rare cases, death. Bites can be easily avoided however by wearing long pants, closed toed shoes that cover the ankles, avoiding areas these snakes frequent and keeping a respectful distance. Attempting to harm one of these snakes, puts one in the most danger of being bit. If a bite does occur, Mark where the bite was with a pen or marker and get to a hospital in a timely fashion. Creating a tourniquet is not recommended as it only concentrates the venom in one spot, expediting necrosis. Trying to suck the venom out is also not recommended as it only causes further blood loss and stress. Getting to hospital is one’s best chance with a 100% recovery rate in Ontario. There have only ever been two recorded deaths in the province from a massasauga rattlesnake bite, in both, the patients were unable to get to a hospital for up to several days after the initial bite.
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Traditional Ecological Knowledge: How the Snake Got it's Rattle Rattlesnakes, or 𝘻𝘩𝘪𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘪𝘨𝘸𝘦 in Ojibwe, are often depicted in stories throughout North America. One such story in the Ojibwe culture tells how the rattlesnake got its rattle. In the story, a mother was working when she heard her baby start to cry. She found that the baby had been bitten by a snake and it soon started to feel ill. The mother starting calling out for help which caught the attention of Nenaboozhoo. Nenaboozhoo took some roots from his medicine pouch and gave them to the mother. He told her to chew them up and put it on the bite. The rest of the root can be made into a tea for her to drink so that the medicine would get to the baby through her breast milk. The baby began to feel better but the mother was vengeful and asked Nenaboozhoo to find and kill the snake. Nenaboozhoo headed out and soon found the snake, the snake explained that he only bit because he got scared when the baby started crying. So, Nenaboozhoo took his wampum necklace and wrapped it around the snake’s tail. He told the snake that if he is ever scared, he can shake his tail instead of biting, so other beings know to avoid him. Nenaboozhoo then started planting some of the roots from his medicine pouch which soon grew into 𝘕𝘢𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘦 𝘖𝘫𝘪𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘬, or Seneca snakeroot, so others would be able to recover from snake bites (Murdoch, 2019).
Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Snake Venom and Medicine The rattling tails of these snakes are often used in ceremonies by Indigenous Peoples to honour their shared history. When Europeans first came to North America they brought with them many diseases such as small pox, which Indigenous Peoples had no immunity to. To find a cure, some sought out the spirits for help. To do so, they used the venom of the massasauga rattlesnake and injected it into the thick muscle tissue of the leg to reduce long term damage. The venom caused sweat dreams and hallucinations that allowed Indigenous Peoples to ask the spirits and ancestors for help. Using knowledge gained from this, Indigenous Peoples are believed to have learned how to create medicines to cure many of the European diseases but not before ~95% of the population had already succumbed to illness (Musgrave, 2019)
Sources:
Kennedy, Taylor. Personal interview. 2021. Laureano, Marissa, and Mark Crowther. "Severe Coagulopathy after a Massasauga Rattlesnake Bite." Canadian Medical Association Journal, 20 Feb. 2018, www.cmaj.ca/content/190/7/E191. Accessed 7 Dec. 2021. "Massasauga." Ontario Nature, 2021, ontarionature.org/programs/community-science/reptile-amphibian-atlas/massasauga/. Accessed 7 Dec. 2021. Murdoch, Isaac. The Trail of Nenaboozhoo and other Creation Stories. Kegedonce Press, 2019, pp. 51-53. Musgrave, Caleb. "Introduction to Indigenous Knowledge INDG2100Y ." Trent Unviersity, 2019, Peterborough, Canada. Address. Schuett, Gordon W., et al. "Feeding Mimicry in the Rattlesnake Sistrurus catenatus, with Comment on the Evolution of the Rattle." Research Gate, Animal Behaviour , Apr. 1984, www.researchgate.net/publication/232505869_Feeding_mimicry_in_the_rattlesnake_Sistrurus_catenatus_with_comment_on_the_evolution_of_the_rattle. Accessed 7 Dec. 2021. Smolarz, A G., et al. "Identifying Resilient Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) Peatland Hummock Hibernacula." Canadian Science Publishing, Canadian Journal of Zoology, 27 Mar. 2018, cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjz-2017-0334. Accessed 7 Dec. 2021. "Zhiishiigwe." The Ojibwe People's Dictionary, 2021, ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/main-entry/zhiishiigwe-na. Accessed 7 Dec. 2021. |