Snake seen while hiking near Hood River

[pdx]

Trying to ID this for sure. I believe it to be a Western Pacific Rattlesnake. Comments?

[Peabody]

The only sure way to know is to pet it and see if it makes a rattling sound. Western Pacific Rattlesnake always rattle when you pet them.

Cool pic.!

[hlee]

No clue, but very cool find!!

[Crusak]

The shape of the head and eyes looks like a rattlesnake. Every time I've been around rattlers they usually let you know when you're too close...

Here are some hints for making a positive ID (if the audio ID isn't happening):

Examine the face for the pit between the eyes and nostrils characteristic of a pit viper. Rattlesnakes are a member of this family. The pits enable the snake to sense warm-blooded animals and even tell the size of the animal.

Look at the eyes. Rattlesnakes have the cat-like vertical pupils common to most venomous snakes unlike the round pupils of most non-poisonous snakes. Rattlesnakes have no eyelids and cannot close their eyes so you cannot tell if they are asleep or not.

Identify the shape of the head, which is wider than the neck. The rattlesnake has a triangular head that aids in the dislocation of its jaw when swallowing food.

Notice the length and body-type of the snake. Rattlesnakes are normally between 2 and 3 feet long and have a heavy, thick body.

(courtesy of ehow.com)

[bobcat]

Absolutely no doubt it's a Western rattler. We have only one subspecies in this part of Oregon: (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) - you can call it the Northern Pacific rattlesnake.

Another subspecies - (Crotalus oreganus lutosus), the Great Basin rattlesnake, lives in the southern part of eastern Oregon.

[Grannyhiker]

I'm sure we are all going to get up really close to make sure that pit is on the face! The flat triangular head is enough for me; I'm not getting any closer!

Beautiful snake, though! They also provide an important function in keeping down the rodent population.

Also a good argument for keeping the dog on leash on the eastern slopes of the Cascades.

[adamschneider]

I was lucky enough to see THREE rattlesnakes this year: one in April at Memaloose Hills (Oregon), one in May on the Dog Mountain Trail (Washington), and one in June at Castle Crags (California). Only the Dog Mountain one rattled... although I think the Memaloose Hills one was TRYING to but couldn't because it was just a baby and had nothing to rattle!