What makes a rattlesnake noise

Crotalus cerastes - Sidewinder. A Mohave Desert Sidewinder in motion on a windy night. A Colorado Desert Sidewinder found on a road at night rattles and sidewinds. A Mohave Desert Sidewinder sidewinds and crawls across the desert. Watch a Mohave Desert Sidewinder crawl at night slowly then very quickly over the sand with its unique sideways locomotion.

A Colorado Desert Sidewinder sidewinding at night. A Colorado Desert Sidewinder crawls with its unique sideways locomotion. Crotalus cerberus - Arizona Black Rattlesnake. An Arizona Black Rattlesnake , found at the edge of a road at night in Graham County, Arizona, crawls back into the grass.

It did not rattle at all, so there is no sound here. Crotalus mitchellii - Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake. A coiled Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake rattles, uncoils, and crawls into a bush. The sound has been deleted in the middle due to excessive background noise. A large adult Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake rattling and crawling away on a windy night. Crotalus molossus - Black-tailed Rattlesnake. Crotalus oreganus - Western Rattlesnake. A Northern Pacific Rattlesnake rattles its tail.

This video begins with a squirrel's high-pitched alarm call coming from a large group of shrubs in the Sierra Nevada mountains. When I got closer the squirrel ran away and I saw this Northern Pacific Rattlesnake climbing down a branch then farther back into the bushes. Later, after the camera batteries died, the snake returned and crawled outside the shrubs while the squirrel called and ran around outside the bushes near the snake, but outside of its striking range.

A Northern Pacific Rattlesnake in the Sierra Nevada mountains crawls into a crack and shakes its tail. Most rattlesnakes will do exactly what this Northern Pacific Rattlesnake did when I encountered it in the late afternoon on a mountain road - they turn and crawl quickly away, with a little rattling thrown in as a warning. Rattlesnakes are often depicted in fiction as aggressors, leaping and striking viciously, often for no reason other than to give the hero an excuse to kill it to prove himself.

The truth is that rattlesnakes are almost always defensive, not offensive, when they encounter humans, wanting nothing more than to escape, and the least heroic thing someone can do is to automatically kill them. A Northern Pacific Rattlesnake is seen slowly following a snake hook with curiosity, not aggression. The hook had been used earlier to pick up a breeding pair of snakes, and we decided that this one was probably a male that smelled the scent of the breeding female on the hook.

A juvenile Northern Pacific Rattlesnake rattles and crawls off a road in the foothills of Fresno County in early Fall. A Great Basin Rattlesnake rattles at night in the Nevada desert. Crotalus pricei - Western Twin-spotted Rattlesnake. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London. Animals Wild Cities Morocco has 3 million stray dogs.

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Science Coronavirus Coverage U. Travel A road trip in Burgundy reveals far more than fine wine. Travel My Hometown In L. Travel The last artists crafting a Thai royal treasure. Subscriber Exclusive Content. The hard rattles at the ends of their tails are made of keratin, the same material that makes up human hair. New segments develop every time the snakes shed their skin.

By shaking their tails from side to side, these segments clack together, creating the familiar rattlesnake sound. Hearing the quintessential rattlesnake noise is a warning. The pests use it as a notice to back off before they attack. It is important to note, however, that rattlesnakes don't always rattle before they strike, nor does a rattle automatically mean a strike is coming. Nonetheless, it's certainly a sign to be careful and leave the area as quickly as possible.

Rattlesnakes do bite people, and victims often don't know they have done something to upset the snake until it's too late. Most bites occur when people accidentally step on resting rattlesnakes.