July 16 is World Snake Day. I want to share two recent Facebook posts from WI's Outdoor Recreation Alliance (ORA) and the WI DNR with some info on rattlesnakes and snake encounters. With warm sunny weather, snakes are more apt to be seeking spots in the sun along trails and asphalt near woods.
On July 11, 2025, the ORA wrote:
It’s that sunny time of year again where sometimes we see all types of trail friends using the trails - Even the sunbathing, slithering kind! Because we've been hearing a few snake reports lately in Hixon, we wanted to remind trail users that there are a few ways to make sure we all stay comfortable when sharing natural spaces with wild animals. Even our slithering friends.
In the rare event a bite occurs, seek medical help. Local groups, like Friends of the La Crosse Marsh can be great resources if you're looking for more information on wildlife and native species, and helped develop these tips.
To read more about rattlesnakes in the Driftless, check out this WI DNR information shared July 16, 2025 on Facebook:
It's World Snake Day, and to celebrate, we want to tell you about Wisconsin's two species of rattlesnakes.
They're the only venomous snakes in the state, but most people will go their whole lives without seeing one, which is precisely what these snakes prefer! They're not aggressive and will choose to hide or slither away before risking their lives confronting a creature 70 times their size (us).
Timber rattlesnakes are larger (3 to 5 feet long), have dark brown rings and are a species of Special Concern (protected wild animal). They're found in bluff prairies and nearby forests in the southwest, south central and western parts of the state.
Massasauga rattlesnakes are smaller (2 to 3 feet long) with brown saddle-shaped markings on their back and spots along their sides. They are endangered in Wisconsin and federally threatened. They live in more specialized wetland habitats across a diagonal band from the southeast to the west-central part of the state. Due to habitat loss and a historic rattlesnake bounty, they only remain at eight sites in Wisconsin.
There are many snakes you're more likely to see that will imitate a rattlesnake in an attempt to avoid becoming prey! Many of these imitators are much more aggressive than rattlesnakes and may pretend to rattle their tail or strike if approached, because they are nonvenomous – it's all an act.
Rattlesnakes try to conserve their venom for actual prey and usually choose to hide or flee. They are ambush predators, so they wait patiently along downed woody debris and on movement corridors for small mammals to cross their path and capture a meal.
Learn more about Wisconsin's rattlesnakes and their mimics: https://widnr.widen.net/s/5kskcl2gcl/nh0944
It's World Snake Day, and to celebrate, we want to tell you about Wisconsin's two species of rattlesnakes.
They're the only venomous snakes in the state, but most people will go their whole lives without seeing one, which is precisely what these snakes prefer! They're not aggressive and will choose to hide or slither away before risking their lives confronting a creature 70 times their size (us).
Timber rattlesnakes are larger (3 to 5 feet long), have dark brown rings and are a species of Special Concern (protected wild animal). They're found in bluff prairies and nearby forests in the southwest, south central and western parts of the state.
Massasauga rattlesnakes are smaller (2 to 3 feet long) with brown saddle-shaped markings on their back and spots along their sides. They are endangered in Wisconsin and federally threatened. They live in more specialized wetland habitats across a diagonal band from the southeast to the west-central part of the state. Due to habitat loss and a historic rattlesnake bounty, they only remain at eight sites in Wisconsin.
There are many snakes you're more likely to see that will imitate a rattlesnake in an attempt to avoid becoming prey! Many of these imitators are much more aggressive than rattlesnakes and may pretend to rattle their tail or strike if approached, because they are nonvenomous – it's all an act.
Rattlesnakes try to conserve their venom for actual prey and usually choose to hide or flee. They are ambush predators, so they wait patiently along downed woody debris and on movement corridors for small mammals to cross their path and capture a meal.
Learn more about Wisconsin's rattlesnakes and their mimics: https://widnr.widen.net/s/5kskcl2gcl/nh0944
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