A man was airlifted out of Lake Del Valle Regional Park after being bit by a rattlesnake in the lake. Here's the article from the San Jose Mercury News:
www.mercurynews.com/.../man-bitten-by-rattlesnake-at-del-valle-regional
The article says (and I hope it's true) that the snakes avoid the busier sections of the park. There's a 10K race coming up in this very lake in 3 weeks - I'm still planning to swim, but not without some trepidation now.
Some consolation: I've never encountered any snakes at Lake Del Valle, and I have been out there for races at least once a summer for almost 10 years now. Plus, this guy was bit because he picked up the rattler, which is not an idea that would even cross my mind. To me it doesn't matter whether it appeared to be alive or dead, in the water or out of the water, venomous or non-venomous, etc...
Bears swim, too, and very well - probably faster than I can. This thought occurred to me while I was enjoying beautiful Bowman Lake in Glacier National Park and noticed I was several hundred yards from shore. The shadows were getting longer...
Circumspection is a good choice.
Interesting encounters occur where habitat extremes overlap, such as along the Ohio River: near the upper limit for southern species, near the lower limit for northern species. Everything crawling, flying, and swimming together.
:)
(Sorry, I know nothing about San Jose!)
I remember scuba diving in a quarry around Chi ago land as a kid, down about 15 feet , when a water moccasin swam in front of me !!! It sounds strange when you scream into the mouth piece!!!
This is goes in the category of things to not think about. Ever.
My favorite local swimming spot is called Rattlesnake Cove. I've spent many, many hours there, and I've never seen one. It's extremely unlikely that you would make contact with a snake in the water and that it would bite you.
The guy in the story picked up the snake with his bare hands. Don't do that. Same goes for broken glass, hot coals, etc. Also, he's no worse for the wear.
The most harm a rattlesnake is likely to do to you is to get lodged in your imagination.
The guy in the story picked up the snake with his bare hands.
... Also, he's no worse for the wear.
Is he?
There are a variety of long term effects possible from rattlesnake bites. The article doesn't say either way and it's a little early to tell..
He picked it up!? Rattlesnakes are fascinating creatures...BUT YOU DON'T PET THEM. I am planning on doing the swim at Del Valle, and I am usually pretty good at thinking of EVERYTHING that could possibly go wrong. Rattlesnakes didn't even make the list. Thanks for the heads up.
And in a related story about swimmers striking back…
Swimmers' urine to blame for 500 fish deaths, German fishermen say
HAMBURG – Swimmers have killed about 500 fish in a northern Germany lake, with their urine causing algae that poisons marine life.
The mass death in the past two weeks has occurred in Eichbaum lake, in the port city of Hamburg, The Local reported.
"Swimmers who urinate in the lake are introducing a lot of phosphate," fishermen's spokesman Manfred Siedler told Bild newspaper. "We're calculating half a liter of urine per swimmer per day."
Applying anti-phosphate -- at a reported cost of $667,000 -- hasn't worked, fueling an ongoing feud between fishermen and those who swim in the lake.
Swimmers have been banned from the lake until the algae outbreak is addressed.
www.foxnews.com/.../
And in a related story about swimmers striking back…
Swimmers' urine to blame for 500 fish deaths, German fishermen say
HAMBURG – Swimmers have killed about 500 fish in a northern Germany lake, with their urine causing algae that poisons marine life.
The mass death in the past two weeks has occurred in Eichbaum lake, in the port city of Hamburg, The Local reported.
"Swimmers who urinate in the lake are introducing a lot of phosphate," fishermen's spokesman Manfred Siedler told Bild newspaper. "We're calculating half a liter of urine per swimmer per day."
Applying anti-phosphate -- at a reported cost of $667,000 -- hasn't worked, fueling an ongoing feud between fishermen and those who swim in the lake.
Swimmers have been banned from the lake until the algae outbreak is addressed.
www.foxnews.com/.../
Rob, I doubt that peeing in a lake - especially since the fisherman's spokesperson calculates that every swimmer does it in the lake - would kill the fish. Most fish kills are from a sudden drop in dissolved oxygen in the water as a result of fertilizer runoff from farms or suburban lawns.
As for the rattlesnake, my biologist friend told me that timber rattlesnakes, which can be found out East, actually hibernate in the water. I guess they spend the winter in areas of rivers that don't freeze over. I would bet that they would be extremely sluggish if you tried to pick one up in January, but I won't be the first person to attempt it!
