Nk'Mip Cultural Centre Presentation

The ladies from Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre had a special surprise for us at last weeks meeting! They brought in a rattlesnake named Goliath. He was quite large compared to most rattlers in our area. Even though Goliath has been showcased to the public often he is still not a tame snake and needed to be handled with extreme care and caution. Barb Sabian went through some very interesting facts about rattlesnakes such as: -Rattlers are quite shy and won't strike unless they are threatened -Snakes shed their skin twice a year and it takes about two weeks. During this time the snake is extremely vulnerable to the point where it eyes turn a bluish colour and they go blind -Snakes can see heat and they use this extra sense to hunt -Snakes can't hear so if you are ever in the bush looking for a golf ball tap the ground to make a vibration to let them know you are coming...they won't hear you. -Baby rattlers are most dangerous because they are too young to know to release only a small amount of venom...instead they release almost all their venom. -Best thing for a person to do if bitten is to get to the hospital. Do not cut the wound, suck the poison, ice it...just leave it be and get to the hospital for anti-venom -In the last 20 years only 3 people in Canada have died from rattlesnake bites The Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre does information sessions on rattlesnakes very often through the busy season here. Best to check the Program Schedule at http://www.nkmipdesert.com/