Silent rattlesnakes

It may perhaps be terrifying to hear the sound of the rattle of a rattlesnake, but this noise will probably save your life. Now, however, hikers in the Black Hills of South Dakota should keep their eyes open because rattlesnakes apparently did not make the most noise. To hear their reports, these snakes seem to present the curly tails like those of pigs and then stiff and unable to vibrate, due to what seems to be a sort of muscle atrophy. To listen to the experts, this anomaly appears to have originated from a genetic defect.
Another hypothesis, unless credited, that is perhaps only a few snakes appearing with no rattle due to breakage of their tails due to predation attempts failed, as claimed by a researcher. Anyway, it seems that hikers may need something more than their ears to avoid the sun.
Mutation or not, the fact is that these new variant in the population of rattlesnakes is probably favoring the snakes: those who still produce the characteristic noise are in fact more likely to be killed by excess of caution to indiscriminate hunting or defensive, so that only the rattle snakes without are benefited by this new protection specific anti-man.
A herpetologist, the Black Hills of South Dakota, has seen an increasing number of prairie rattlesnakes with atrophied muscles of the tail with rattles are not working. It 'a fact that the snakes that make noise usually end up being killed, leaving those silent proliferate undisturbed and thus become the new future populations. We therefore feel really contributing unwittingly to the evolution of rattlesnakes silent!
The curious thing is that the rattle seems to be evolutionarily appeared when grasslands were invaded by the bison, for these, alarmed, not stepping the snakes.
But now that the bison has been decimated, the rattle is useful to become harmful due to anthropogenic element, while this new mutation that protects them from humans who hunt them can be transmitted to their descendants. In practice, if perhaps someone had doubts, the source of the phenomenon of natural selection speciation always continues to act undisturbed, and in this case also rather quickly, with man as selective environmental factor. The environment thus inevitably changes, favorable mutations before they become disadvantageous, new mutations occur randomly, and species adapt, thus being selected: the fittest survive, the less suitable is extinguished.
From all this, we can draw any reflection, I can not conclude that snakes are probably the most misunderstood animals in the world. Although it is important to realize the potential danger of some sort, we do not have this fear or hate them worse limbless reptiles. A famous saying of South Dakota cites: "Leave snakes alone, and they will likely leave you alone".
Snakes are normally shy and reticent. When we get closer, they usually remain quiet to avoid being detected. They can then try to escape, if given an opportunity comes. Only when they are frightened or cornered, are in a defensive position. The reptiles are more valuable animals that play an important environmental role, eating insects and rodents. Many species are threatened with extinction due to the use by man of persistent pesticides, indiscriminate hunting and the destruction of large areas of habitat that these animals need to survive. Even if you do not realize it or do not want to admit it, snakes are mostly beneficial for people, but people are rarely advantageous for snakes!
If you are killed randomly and without knowledge of the facts is why some show aggressive. But they are aggressive because they have fewer and fewer places where to hide.
Curiosity: the most venomous snake in North America appears to be the Eastern Diamondback of Carolina, followed by Timber Rattler in the Middle East U.S.A. (PA, West VA, NY). They are protected species, very solitary and reserved, and, if they can, they love to hide so that it may not actually be aggressive.

P.S. to whom it may concern, we sell on our site and rattles and vertebrae of Crotalus viridis, as well as various extinct fossil snakes.

an article by Cristiano Cascioli