Residents of California and the Southwest may want to brush up on the do's and dont's of rattlesnake encounters. A new study suggests the snakes' population there is thriving and will continue to do so, reports the Guardian. The reason is the very one causing grief for humans and other species: hotter temperatures. Researchers from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and the University of Michigan found that the average internal temperature of coastal rattlers was 70 degrees and their inland cousins were at 74 degrees, per the Sacramento Bee. However, their preferred range is 86 to 89 degrees.
"We were surprised to see how much lower the body temperatures of wild snakes were relative to their preferred body temperatures in the lab," says lead researcher Hayley Crowell of the University of Michigan, per a release. "A warmer climate may help these snakes heat up to temperatures that are more optimal for digestion or reproduction.” The study found that the seven species of rattlers found in California are growing in population faster than most other animals, writes Andrew Pridgen at SFGate. (In fact, the state's human population is declining.)
Pridgen adds a personal footnote to the research: In previous years, he has spotted the occasional rattlesnake while trail-running. "This spring thus far, however, has been a different story," he writes. "Since April 1, I've had four rattler sightings." Longer stretches of hot weather will give the snakes more opportunity to feed and be active, per the Bee. And their ability to exist on little energy means they'll be OK even if hotter temperatures reduces the availability of prey. (The snakes can be deceptive with their distinctive warning rattles.)
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