Environmentalists Say Be Careful Of Rattlesnakes In Hot Weather
STONY POINT, NY (WCBS 880) -- Environmentalists are warning Hudson Valley residents to be on the lookout for rattlesnakes.
WCBS 880's Catherine Cioffi reports: Watch Out For Rattlesnakes
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The warning comes on the heel of a Rockland man being bitten by a rattlesnake. Officials say when it gets hot, snakes like many other animals, look for places to stay cool.
"It has to do with their metabolism," said Chuck Stead with Cornell University Cooperative Extension in Rockland County. "They need to get out and find the cool places."
Stead says that means you're more likely to run into a rattlesnake on a hot day.
"They'll sun themselves in the early morning on the pavement and then they'll move into the adjacent shaded areas," he explained.
Still, he says actually getting attacked by one is very rare. "They don't come after us," said Stead. "It's like we're coming after them. They're not aggressive, they're defensive."
For more information, visit www.rocklandcce.org.
