In the Pitt, there are several hundred active Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes here |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 037.JPG |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 024.JPG |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 026.JPG |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 027.JPG |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 028.JPG |
The Man in the Pit always has a watcher ready to go in |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 002.JPG |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 003.JPG |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 004.JPG |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 005.JPG |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 006.JPG |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 010.JPG |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 022.JPG |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 023.JPG |
Snake Tote Board Talley |
Milking the Venom from the snake, they do that to each snake before it is butchered |
Several Men help Milk the Snakes for their Venom, the venom is used in medical research and other areas |
The Business End of a Rattlesnake |
Snake Venom is used to make Anti-Venom and for other research purposes |
Snakes Waiting to be Milked |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 011.JPG |
Sweetwater Rattlesnake 2009 012.JPG |
This is the Mesuring, Weighing, Ring Count and Sexing area-the stats are kept for research and other purposes |
You are always careful when handling Rattlesnakes |
Measuring the Snakes, the hunters tend to bring in the larger snakes since the smaller ones don't weight much |
Weighing the snake |
Kids have a plexiglas window so they can watch |
Getting the snake pinned down so you can grasp them behind the head |
Counting the colored rings, not the number of rattles to try to age the snake |
Whataburger, a Texas Hamburger Chain, giving out gifts after spinning the wheel |
This Snakes Head is still Venomous-in fact some venom is visible on that pen and if that gets into a cut the person would be bit |
GD3P0555.JPG |
Cecil Villa has been whacking snakes for over 40 years at the roundup |
Cecil and his Machette, he figures over 200,000 chops |