Where to find timber rattlesnakes in pa

Address: Pennsylvania, USA. Pennsylvania In Your Inbox spinner. Thank you! You will receive your first email soon. Love Pennsylvania? By the s, overhunting reduced rattler numbers to a critically low level. Today, Pennsylvanians need permits to hunt, capture or kill rattlesnakes and are only allowed one annually.

It is illegal to hunt or kill rattlers in many state forests and game lands or to damage rattler dens or basking areas. In fact, Pennsylvania is home to one of the largest populations of timber rattlesnakes in North America today.

Materials pertaining to the history of the timber rattlesnake in Pennsylvania can be found in the collections of the Pennsylvania State Archives, RG She is currently employed since as a wildlife biologist with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry where she works mostly with non-game species management on state forest lands.

The PA Wilds team is grateful to share the many stories of this region through the words and images of our talented guest contributors. By Aura Stauffer Hiking a state forest trail this time of year brings a higher probability of a snake encounter, and the timber rattlesnake is the species that people generally fear the most. Many species of snakes can overwinter at the same den. This northern black racer made a meal of a timber rattlesnake as it emerged from hibernation.

Black phase timber rattler, Forbes State Forest. DCNR file photo Education is essential for the survival of timber rattlesnake populations throughout the commonwealth. Related Articles. Audrey Chambers. Central Pennsylvania. Adams, 1, total records in the PARS database, including 21 timber rattlesnakes; Cumberland, 2, total, 46 timber rattlesnakes; Dauphin, 1, total, 68 timber rattlesnakes; Franklin, 1, total, 8 timber rattlesnakes; Fulton, 1, total, 4 timber rattlesnakes; Juniata, total, 9 timber rattlesnakes; Lebanon, 2, total, 43 timber rattlesnakes; Perry, 1, total, 54 timber rattlesnakes; Schuylkill, 1, total, 40 timber rattlesnakes; York, 1, total, 2 timber rattlesnakes.

Southeastern Pennsylvania. Berks, 2, total, 89 timber rattlesnakes; Lehigh, 1, total, 10 timber rattlesnakes. Northeastern Pennsylvania. Bradford, total, 6 timber rattlesnakes; Carbon, 1, total, timber rattlesnakes;. Columbia, total, 6 timber rattlesnakes; Lackawanna, 1, total, 30 timber rattlesnakes; Luzerne, 1, total, 42 timber rattlesnakes; Monroe, 2, total, 26 timber rattlesnakes; Northampton, 6, total, 5 timber rattlesnakes; Pike, 1, total, 44 timber rattlesnakes; Sullivan, total, 6 timber rattlesnakes; Susquehanna, 1, total, 29 timber rattlesnakes.

Northcentral Pennsylvania. Cameron, 1, total, 69 timber rattlesnakes; Centre, 3, total, timber rattlesnakes; Clearfield, 1, total, 83 timber rattlesnakes; Clinton, 1, total, timber rattlesnakes; Columbia, total, 6 timber rattlesnakes; Elk, total, 31 timber rattlesnakes; Huntingdon, 2, total, 79 timber rattlesnakes; Jefferson, total, 5 timber rattlesnakes; Lycoming, 3, total, timber rattlesnakes; McKean, 1, total, 19 timber rattlesnakes; Potter, 1, total, 13 timber rattlesnakes; Snyder, 1, total, 2 timber rattlesnakes; Tioga, 5, total, timber rattlesnakes; Union, 1, total, 44 timber rattlesnakes.

Mike and Laura Jackson. Northwestern Pennsylvania. Clarion, 1, total, 9 timber rattlesnakes; Forest, 1, total, 15 timber rattlesnakes; Jefferson, total, 5 timber rattlesnakes; Venango, 4, total; 37 timber rattlesnakes; Warren, 2, total; 17 timber rattlesnakes. Southwestern Pennsylvania. Bedford, 1, total, 8 timber rattlesnakes; Blair, 1, total, 63 timber rattlesnakes; Cambria, 1, total, 27 timber rattlesnakes; Fayette, 1, total, 46 timber rattlesnakes; Indiana, 4, total, 11 timber rattlesnakes; Somerset, 1, total, 37 timber rattlesnakes; Westmoreland, 10, total, 52 timber rattlesnakes.

About the timber rattlesnake. The timber rattlesnake Crotalus horridus is the most commonly encountered venomous snake in Pennsylvania. It is found near rock outcroppings, crevices and ledges in upland forests across most of Pennsylvania. The adult is inches in length.