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...
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!
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!
