Massasauga Rattlesnake

 

We have just returned from our yearly Killbear Provincial Park holiday. This year marked our fortieth-year camping at Killbear. It’s been a great place to observe wildlife and hike, as well as canoe, kayak and sail out amongst the islands. We’ve also made some great friends through the years.

My take on arguably the most photographed tree on Georgian Bay.

We have observed a wide variety of wildlife in Killbear through the years. Moose, deer, porcupine, raccoon, red fox, mink, fisher, black bear, beaver, otters, as well as a vast array of birds. The park is home to numerous Barred Owls and this year was no exception as we observed Barred Owls most mornings while birding and had two calling right in our campsite the last night of our stay. Barred Owls will be a future blog.

Since I’ve already done blogs on the red fox and fisher from Killbear this week’s blogs will feature some of our other wildlife encounters. Of course, Killbear is most famous for its snakes. Nine species are found in the park but none more famous than the Massasauga Rattlesnake and Eastern Fox Snake.

The Massasauga is a stout-bodied rattlesnake, usually about 50 to 70 centimetres long. It is Ontario’s only venomous snake, though it will only bite in self-defence if it is threatened or harassed.

It has a triangular head and a tail that ends in a small rattle that creates a buzzing sound when the tail shakes. I was very surprised the first time I heard a Massasauga rattle as I was expecting more of a traditional “movie” type rattle, not the buzzing sound.

The body is grey to dark brown with darker brown "butterfly" or "saddle-shaped" blotches down the back, with alternating blotches along the sides.

The Massasauga is the only Ontario snake with a vertical (cat-like) pupil as shown here.

Massasaugas live in different types of habitats throughout Ontario, including tall grass prairie, bogs, marshes, shorelines, forests and alvars.

At times they blend in so well they are hard to find and can be easily missed.

At Killbear, for years they were painting captured snake tails different colours each year.

Within all of these habitats, Massasaugas require open areas to warm themselves in the sun.

Pregnant females are most often found in open, dry habitats such as rock barrens or forest clearings where they can more easily maintain the body temperature required for the development of their offspring.

Massasaugas hibernate underground in crevices in bedrock, sphagnum swamps, tree root cavities and animal burrows where they can get below the frost line but stay above the water table.

Tomorrow we will look at the Eastern Fox Snake.