OHIO, USA — You may have seen a photo on social media earlier this week from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources showing an eastern massasauga rattlesnake that was captured for measurements and then released.
In the post, officials said Huron County Wildlife Officer Matthew D. Smith located the rattlesnake last month as Ohio Division of Wildlife staff, researchers and volunteers participated in an annual snake survey.
With the post generating a lot of interest and attention, we had some questions…
So we turned to the experts to see what we could learn about this snake in our state. Kristin Stanford, a Wildlife Diversity Coordinator for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, provided lots of information, which you can explore below.
Is it rare for Ohio to have these kinds of snakes?
Yes, they are not widely spread throughout the state and are only found in a few select locations.
Where was it found?
We do not typically release the locations of individuals, however, in this particular instance, it is commonly known that there is a well-studied population of these snakes at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area. We conduct annual population surveys here to assess the species health.
What should residents know?
Residents should know that they are very unlikely to encounter an eastern massasauga in the wild.
Any safety concerns for people or pets?
Eastern massasaugas are a venomous species, but are not aggressive unless provoked. My recommendation has always been to observe any snake you encounter from a distance and to never attempt to remove the animal on your own. More often or not…just your presence will cause the snake to leave on its own accord and you are unlikely to encounter it again!
Your post says the snake was captured for measurements and released. Any statement/quote you can provide on why that’s done?
As I mentioned before, we have a handful of study sites in the state where we annually assess the population for a variety of reasons. Measurements of individuals are typically taken to measure how much snakes have grown from year to year.
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Stanford also shared this link with additional information on this specific snake.