Check out the new Cal Poly live stream from a unique den that attracts hundreds of rattlesnakes
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Rattlesnake researchers with California Polytechnic State University have installed a new camera at a 'mega-den' of rattlers in Colorado that livestreams to YouTube.
The den is a rare habitat that attracts hundreds of rattlesnakes because the geologic feature provides an assortment of hiding places from the surrounding elements explained Cal Poly in a press release about the installation.
"This livestream allows us to collect data on wild rattlesnakes without disturbing them, facilitating unbiased scientific discovery," explained Emily Taylor, project lead and a Cal Poly biological sciences professor. "But even more important is that members of the public can watch wild rattlesnakes behaving as they naturally do, helping to combat the biased imagery we see on television shows of rattling, defensive and stressed snakes interacting with people who are provoking them."
A live chat accompanies the live stream where observers share interactions witnessed throughout the day and night.
That live chat isn't just for dishing about the latest den drama. Cal Poly explained that it helps researchers identify individual snakes by their unique scale patterns, much like human fingerprints!
The exact location of the den is at a remote, undisclosed spot on private land in northern Colorado and an older live-streaming camera is at a smaller rattlesnake den in California that went live again on Jul. 11 of this year shared Cal Poly.
The solar-powered camera system is funded mostly by donations and was designed and installed by faculty and technicians from Cal Poly's Bailey College of Science and Mathematics.
Dozens of pregnant rattlesnakes can be seen basking in the sun, interacting with their fellow expecting snakes, and, later this summer, caring for their recently-delivered young.
Professor Taylor expects rattlesnake pups to be born in August and stay at their dens with their mothers until male snakes return from summer hunting grounds ahead of their hibernation.
The camera will be turned off during that hibernation period through the winter and return the following spring detailed Cal Poly.
Viewers might also catch predators visiting the den in an attempt to fill their bellies or the mass emergence of thirsty scaled denizens to drink falling rain that they collect on their coiled bodies.
Researchers point out that the best time to watch the cold-blooded (or ectothermic) creatures is in the morning or early evening when they are more active.
"We hope to eventually install cameras on snake aggregations (group gathering) all over the world to help us better understand the behaviors of these complex, social animals," shared Professor Taylor.
While the feed is dedicated to Cal Poly student researchers, a team of Liberal Studies undergraduate students are designing a curriculum called 'RattlEd' tailored to elementary school students using the live stream.
"Third- through fifth-graders will investigate their own scientific questions while watching the snakes with supplemental art, science, and engineering activities to support their learning," said team member Owen Bachhuber, a Cal Poly biological sciences graduate student from Roseville, Minnesota.
For more information on the project, or to slither in to watch, click here!
