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re: Rattlesnakes not rattling because of hogs

Posted on 7/10/22 at 8:41 am to
Posted by laslabjohn
bossier city
Member since Mar 2008
167 posts
Posted on 7/10/22 at 8:41 am to
Live in natchitoches parish,we have killed some big rattle snakes. But over the last ten or so years alot of them will only have 1 or 2 buttons reguardless of size.. wht?
Posted by laslabjohn
bossier city
Member since Mar 2008
167 posts
Posted on 7/10/22 at 8:41 am to
Live in natchitoches parish,we have killed some big rattle snakes. But over the last ten or so years alot of them will only have 1 or 2 buttons reguardless of size.. wht?
Posted by choupiquesushi
yaton rouge
Member since Jun 2006
30738 posts
Posted on 7/10/22 at 8:41 am to
evolution doesn't work that fast. I still hear and see just as many rattling even in hog over run places like NO east and sherburne. (No east may have the highest density of both of anywhere in LA)
Posted by Cowboyfan89
Member since Sep 2015
12734 posts
Posted on 7/10/22 at 8:46 am to
quote:

Millions of years to evolve to have rattles for a very specific reason...that isn't going to start to reverse in 20-50 years.

We're talking about a behavior here, not physical appearance. That timeframe may seem small to us, but for most species of wildlife, 20-50 years is several generations. It's very plausible for a population to change behaviorally under intense pressures (like increased predation) in that time period, or even shorter periods.

If this was a physical trait changing, like the rattle completely disappearing, that's a different story.
Posted by dstone12
Texan
Member since Jan 2007
30481 posts
Posted on 7/10/22 at 9:07 am to
quote:

Turkeys that are loudmouths are much more likely to be predated
almost like a Goldilocks theory.

Tall folks make better basketball players.
Posted by 9rocket
Member since Sep 2020
1216 posts
Posted on 7/10/22 at 10:02 am to
I believe that is hogwash.

Like the previous poster said the only way for a snake to learn this is to be attacked when rattling. And survive. And tell his buddies.
Posted by ImaObserver
Member since Aug 2019
2296 posts
Posted on 7/10/22 at 11:46 am to
Wildlife evolves with their environment and experience. Pheasants used to crouch and hide at the approach of a predator and then burst forth into flight at the last second, scaring the heck out of the hunter and getting shot because of their close proxemity. Our few remaining pheasants no longer do this, they start running as soon as they detect the hunter and they don't flush until they are at the limit or beyond reasonable shotgun range. It's called "survival of the fittest".
This post was edited on 7/10/22 at 11:48 am
Posted by armsdealer
Member since Feb 2016
11533 posts
Posted on 7/10/22 at 12:13 pm to
Animals can learn without evolving.

Sharks were attacking baby Orcas off the coast of Africa. Well some of the Orcas started killing sharks whenever they saw them. Sharks are abandoning the areas where those Orcas are attacking sharks. No evolution here, but changed behavior.
Posted by LSUA 75
Colfax,La.
Member since Jan 2019
3708 posts
Posted on 7/10/22 at 3:11 pm to
I think it’s a selective breeding thing,traits passed down.
When I first moved out here in the country armadillos would come out shortly after sundown,I killed 19 in or around my yard first year.Killed a couple of hundred since.
As time as gone on there are plenty of armadillos but they pretty much only come out between midnight and 4 in morning.I have a cellular camera set up in my yard but I don’t often hear the notification on my phone at 3-4 am.

That’s my theory,the “ early risers” got killed off,one’s left to breed are the “night owls” and they pass that trait down.

Could be same with rattlesnakes.Some are “rattlers” and some are not.The “non rattlers” survive in greater numbers and pass that trait on .

Sounds plausible to me.
Posted by FelicianaTigerfan
Comanche County
Member since Aug 2009
26059 posts
Posted on 7/10/22 at 8:40 pm to
I’ve heard that and have had mixed results when encountering them. One rattled as I was walking up on it the other wouldn’t rattle even after being poked with a stick.

I will say I’ve seen lots more snakes in trees since we’ve gotten more hogs on out place.
Posted by TutHillTiger
Mississippi Alabama
Member since Sep 2010
43700 posts
Posted on 7/11/22 at 2:11 am to
Pigs frick up everythimg
Posted by multicampus
Member since Oct 2021
1191 posts
Posted on 7/11/22 at 7:21 am to
Hogs or rattlers is a tough choice.
Posted by eatpie
Kentucky
Member since Aug 2018
1151 posts
Posted on 7/11/22 at 2:12 pm to
Evolution is much quicker than you think regarding behavior. In only a few generations of snakes, I'm talking 10 years, a survival behavior will become prominent.

This is a well studied and documented phenomenon, even in humans recently. There are areas in Africa for instance, where the landscape/climate/politics make the area unable to support more than X number of people. Historically, when the population exceeded the food/water supply, all that was required was a cyclical drought to cause mass starvation, death and migration. Enter wealthy western civilizations, who took pity and started supplying endless food and water, the populations exploded far beyond what the region could possibly support. When the food/water aid was diminished (WW1 & WW2, for example) mass starvation and death returned to "balance" the natural system.

Posted by DMAN1968
Member since Apr 2019
10151 posts
Posted on 7/11/22 at 8:30 pm to
quote:

Evolution is much quicker than you think regarding behavior
quote:

Evolution may be defined as any net directional change or any cumulative change in the characteristics of organisms or populations over many generations—in other words, descent with modification

I guess I don't equate evolution and learned behavior in the same way as some. I'm older...maybe I'm behind the times.

quote:

When the food/water aid was diminished (WW1 & WW2, for example) mass starvation and death returned to "balance" the natural system.


To me that is not an example of evolution or learned behavior...seems more like an example of not learning something.
Posted by CamdenTiger
Member since Aug 2009
62544 posts
Posted on 7/11/22 at 8:43 pm to
I’m calling BS, snakes aren’t that intelligent. This is just speculation
Posted by eatpie
Kentucky
Member since Aug 2018
1151 posts
Posted on 7/12/22 at 9:03 am to
quote:

Evolution may be defined as any net directional change or any cumulative change in the characteristics of organisms or populations over many generations—in other words, descent with modification


Snakes don't "learn" behavior from their parents. As mentioned before, if a snake that does not rattle when a large animal (hog) is near survives to breed, whatever genetic predisposition is potentially passed yo its offspring.

Behavior is definitely genetic. Birds know instinctively how and when to build a nest. Puppies know instinctively to search for a nipple to suck. Newborn fawns know instinctively to be still and quiet when the mother is away.

Basically, evolution doesn't have to be a visual or physical thing
Posted by commode
North Shore
Member since Dec 2012
1149 posts
Posted on 7/12/22 at 12:07 pm to
We do not have hogs were I hunt (at least yet), and I find the Canebrakes do not rattle much. Now the diamondback tend to rattle. Just my observation over the last 15 or so years.
Posted by CarRamrod
Spurbury, VT
Member since Dec 2006
57473 posts
Posted on 7/12/22 at 12:20 pm to
quote:

Some locals swear that our local timber rattlers no longer rattle warnings. Supposedly, this is some type of adaptation to avoid getting killed by feral hogs who hear the rattling.

Anyone experience this?


millions of years of evolution to form a rattle, they just stop because hogs....
Posted by SL Tiger
Houston
Member since May 2007
2224 posts
Posted on 7/12/22 at 1:37 pm to
Rattling is like a dinner bell for the hogs.
Posted by 9rocket
Member since Sep 2020
1216 posts
Posted on 7/12/22 at 2:47 pm to
We have plenty of canebrakes around here. See them every couple of days. I’ve walked up on a few, don’t recall any of them rattling, but the closest hogs would be miles from them. No way word got passed to them not to rattle in case a hog walks by. I think like you said, that they just don’t rattle much, if at all.
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