Mother's Day with the Snakes and Rats

I've just spent a portion of my Mother's Day indulging in a rare pleasure - sitting down and reading a book, cover to cover. The book I picked for this honor was "Rattled" by Debra Galant and as I read it I found myself wondering if somehow I had been cloned without my knowledge or if Debra and I were twins separated at birth. I say this because, not only is Galant a clever humorist, but she includes in this book almost all of my favorite essay topics - most specifically, the state of living in New Jersey ( and the proliferation of "McMansions"), the ridiculous extremes some parents go to for school functions, and, yes, laboratory rats also play a large part in the story. The star of the book, however, is the New Jersey Timber Rattlesnake, a species that I never knew existed and that I blogged about here last August:

August 17, 2005
Is This Really News?
I understand the concept of a "slow news day," and how that is the time when news outlets may run the more unusual story, or that meritorious human interest story that there was never time for. But exactly how slow of a news day is it, when the headline is something like "Police On the Lookout for Snake." Sure the occasional wayward 50 foot boa constrictor that is peeking up from someone's toilet is an amusing tale, even a cautionary one - but usually the closing story on televised news on a "slow news day." Yesterday, apparently, despite a multitude of world events screaming for attention, it was a snake story that was the lead for hours on an New York City all news radio station. I know this because I was traveling from central New Jersey to the Bronx, New York, in daytime traffic. I heard the snake story at least 4 times. Police were actively searching for a copperhead snake that had the unmitigated gall to bite someone. Of course, this was a someone who was trying to get the snake out of the middle of the road, and was rewarded for his concern in typical snake fashion.There is nothing funny about a poisonous snake bite. It is an important message to tell people to avoid handling snakes or any wild animals with bare hands, no matter how good the intentions. But the impression from the news coverage was that this snake was being relentlessly pursued by local police, with the same voracity as a bank robber.So, I thought, well, maybe this was important and unusual because this was a snake that didn't belong in New Jersey, and like the wayward boa constrictors, had been let loose by mistake, was out of its natural element, and needed to be captured. We certainly don't need a wild, poisonous attack snake pouncing on the unsuspecting. However, in checking the web, and most recently this web page, Township of West Milford Search , I find that not only is the copperhead snake native to New Jersey, it is one of TWO venomous snakes here - the other being the timber rattlesnake. Rattlesnakes? In New Jersey? I'm never going out without heavy boots again ... So now, I'm thinking, not only was this an important lead story for news radio, it is something that the populace of New Jersey need to be aware of - immediately. I'm wondering if it is too late to joing the posse and bring that criminal snake in for some Jersey justice...


Thanks to Galant's book, I now know that Timber Rattlesnakes are actually an endangered species in New Jersey. In that case, one can hardly blame them for being poisonous! The survival of the species is a at stake! Anyway, I reccomend "Rattled" as a fun read.