iN VIDEO: Rattlesnake spotted on hike in Kamloops grassland

An avid hiker and snake lover in Kamloops came across a northern pacific rattlesnake in the grasslands recently and captured footage of the reptile’s defensive movements and noisy rattle as it lifted off the ground in a strike position.

Jesse Berube loves snakes and tries to find all the species living in the Kamloops area every year as he hikes.

He said sometimes rattlesnakes warn when you get close to them, but oftentimes they don’t. On May 28, while walking in the Batchelor Heights area outside of the city, Berube got a warning rattle. 

“It was one of the rare times it rattled before I saw it, it still caught me off guard,” he said. “If I’m walking around and I hear one and it catches me off guard, it sends a chill down my spine no matter how much I love them.”

Giving the snake a few metres distance and keeping his dog on a leash, Berube watched it for roughly five minutes.

The northern pacific rattlesnake is the only rattlesnake found in the province and the only snake in BC with a rattle, according to WildSafeBC. Usually shy and non-aggressive, the snakes grow to just over a meter in length and range in colour from olive-green to tan.

Fewer than five people per year are bitten by the snakes in B.C. with most bites a result of people trying to handle them, and the bites are rarely fatal if treated promptly. Off leash dogs are more susceptible to rattlesnake bites.

Rattlesnakes and their dens can be found in Kamloops in the hills above the Brocklehurst community and out past Kamloops Lake, Berube said.

They also live in several spots in the South Okanagan, around Vernon specifically in an area at the north end of Kalamalka Lake, and in a couple of spots in Grand Forks. 

The snakes are typically spotted from mid-to-late April until early October.

“If you know where their dens are you might see one come out and sun itself on a winter day but that is rare,” Berube said.

Rattlesnakes are protected by the BC Wildlife Act and receive additional protection under Federal legislation as a species at risk, according to WildSafeBC. As a result of increased human encroachment, persecution and the dangers of roads, they are also a ‘blue listed’ species provincially. It is illegal to harm, capture or kill a rattlesnake.