Keith what you described is going on everywhere. I got an example that’s way less significant, but shows the same result.
A new graduate biologist was over a local WMA. One of her duties was getting a dove field ready for September opener. Not being a hunter or really even knowing what dove were she had the field planted, then sprayed, cut, and burned. She was so proud of herself because she beat all her male counterparts in having her field finished before anyone else. The regional biologist came around asking about dove numbers to put out to the public (they rate them before season) and she boasted she saw a dozen or more. He decided he’d go take a look for himself. Apparently she jumped the gun and didn’t figure in rainfall after burning and all the seed had sprouted and this fairly large dove field was now a field of beautiful millet about 4” high a good 3 weeks before the season opener. Guess they didn’t teach timing in the classroom, lol. Degrees don’t mean much without practical knowledge. I sometimes think it’s a ploy by the anti’s.

People need to be both book smart and have lots of first hand experience, to be good wildlife researchers. This applies to almost everything else in life, when you consider book smart to mean having knowledge from others. You can only learn so much from others. You can't learn enough, even if the others you are learning from are experts in their fields, to be an expert.

Learning from others can shorten your learning curve.

Nobody can be an expert at everything.

One of the greatest things is that there is always more to learn.

Keith

Supposedly in PA. talk about odd color for a rattler

Thanks for posting, Blak Spot. That thing is certainly different. Anybody else seen one like that before?

Jack

I have never seen one of that striped color pattern before.

We have a species of Colubrid snake called the western ground snake (Sonora semiannulata) that can be striped, banded, or solid colored, all from the same area, same species. However, I've not heard of this in rattlesnakes. That is a real interesting snake, Blak Spot.

Very cool!

Cottonmouths will come into the boat to say hi to you lol

Yeezus. No thank you. I often thought I'd like to come down there on a alligator hunt. Snakes in a boat would make he void myself right then and there.