SAN MARCOS, Calif. — In recent weeks, San Diegans have reported dozens of baby rattlesnake sightings in backyards and on local hiking trails.
In this Zevely Zone, I share a close call in San Marcos.
I don't want to sound too dramatic, but I consider this story to be a public service announcement to anyone walking the trails this fall.
It happened just a few days ago. I was walking my dog Raleigh.
I want you to look at the pictures in this article and try to see what I missed. What looked like a small stick on the trail was a baby rattlesnake.
"You guys there's a rattlesnake here," I said to warn some approaching hikers.
"Oh my gosh yeah," said a hiker.
My dog Raleigh spotted the snake but Mindy Patton and Trudy Haines missed it just like me and they were very surprised.
"Yes, because we walked right passed it. We walked right over it. We didn't even notice it," said Mindy and Trudy. "That was literally there and we walked right passed it."
With the little 10-inch snake coiled, hikers kept coming.
"Sir, there's a little baby rattlesnake," I warned again. The hiker was listening to music.
He looked up said, "What's that? A little baby huh?"
That hiker, named James Martin, tried to help to get the snake off the trail, but he was called off by the next hiker to come along.
"Hello, I'll do this, I do this all of the time," said Doug Hansen.
He told us he is a volunteer with a group called Snake Wranglers.
"Rattlesnakes are never ever, ever, ever aggressive," said Doug. "Come on baby."
Doug safely moved the baby snake off the trail and said, "Yeah, that one is less than week old."
"Doug was one of my very first wranglers," said Bruce Ireland who is the founder of Snake Wranglers.
When I told Bruce that some people believe it's late in the season to see baby rattlesnakes, Bruce responded, "Completely false. Late September and October is baby snake season."
He showed me a baby rattler he just relocated from a homeowner's backyard. "How easy would it be to walk by this little guy?" asked Bruce. "When they are coiled up in this position they are very very small."
He also told me when they are that small they do not have a rattle that makes noise.
"They do not," said Bruce. Which means no warning for you or your pet.
"Had my dog been bitten how expensive would that be at a veterinarian clinic?" I asked.
Bruce told me, "If a dog is bitten, it's typically between three thousand and I've heard up to seven thousand dollars to treat a dog."
I then asked if a snake bite could kill my dog.
"Unfortunately yes, a snakebite to a dog can be deadly," said Bruce.
Fortunately, that didn't happen. I'm glad to report, all of the hikers and Raleigh walked away along with a baby snake who happily slithered away unharmed.
I've been walking that San Marcos trail for 20 years and I've never seen a baby snake. It was just so small I could have stepped on it and so could you.
So, watch out!
"Raleigh, you saved the day buddy. You saved the day," I said.
For years, Bruce has been on a one-man crusade saving snakes.
"You don't have to kill them. You may not know that much about snakes because you may not understand them and yes some of them are dangerous, but that doesn't mean we should go out and indiscriminately kill them," said Bruce who has twenty-one volunteers who are happy to safely put a rattlesnake into a protective bucket for relocation.
Baby snake season ends in November when nighttime temperatures cool into the forties. To learn more about 'Snake Wranglers' and their free relocation service go to www.snake-wranglers.com.