Retrospect: the massasauga rattlesnake(?), part 1
Self-tutoring about people and events from the past: the tutor reflects….
The massasauga rattlesnake is either threatened or endangered, depending on who you talk to and where. It inhabits wetlands in extreme Southern Ontario and the Midwest (one reason, no doubt, for its uncertain future), and of course it’s venomous (the other reason). It’s so shy, however, that only 1 to 2 bites per year are recorded in Michigan, where they have the most. There hasn’t been a documented fatality from a massasauga in 40 years [2].
Perhaps Americans are used to poisonous snakes being around, but to a Canadian it’s an exotic notion. However, it’s possible my grandmother got bitten by one, decades ago. She had no idea what kind of snake it was, of course, but here’s how I heard about it:
One day when I was around 10 years old, I was talking to my maternal grandmother (MGM):
ME (wrongly): We don’t have any poisonous snakes in Canada.
MGM: Oh, we sure do. I got bitten by one in Ontario.
ME: Really?
MGM: Yes, at ????????’s graduation.
(I don’t know whose graduation it was, but believe her niece’s. Graduations were important to my maternal grandmother – she was a teacher herself – so she was willing to travel to attend one.)
While my grandmother had been an avid camper, etc, earlier in her life, by then she wasn’t. I didn’t disbelieve her, but became curious:
ME: What happened? How did you get bitten?
MGM: The ceremony was outdoors, so I standing in the field, watching, from the back. There was a flower garden behind me. Suddenly I felt a sharp sting in my lower leg – I had a dress on, so my lower leg was bare.
ME: What happened next?
MGM: Well, I ignored it as best I could, so as not to ruin the ceremony or miss my niece’s turn at the stage. But it hurt and bled a lot. After the ceremony my sister tended to me – she’s a nurse. She was excited, having never seen such a wound.
My understanding is that no hospital trip was made; rather, my grandmother “toughed it out” and lived. I don’t think her survival was in any doubt. She would have worried much more about social graces than about dying, in any event.
Only today, about forty years after hearing that story, which itself had happened a few years prior, do I realize either
- Some exotic snake escaped and bit her.
- A massasauga rattlesnake bit her.
The first possibility might even be more likely, since massasauga rattlesnakes are so shy. In fact, in 174 encounters, not one led to attack [1]. Therefore, even though she was in the massasauga’s territory, it seems unlikely one would have sought her out from the safety and cover of a flower garden. She never saw it, nor can I imagine her moving in a menacing way.
Likely the encounter happened somewhere in Toronto, or else in Welland. Both places are urban, with (as I recall) lots of circulation: anyone could own anything, and lose it, in either place.
Officially, however, I guess we’d suspect that, for some reason, a massasauga rattlesnake acted very uncharacteristically and bit my poor grandmother. If so, why?
At any such ceremony, there are often lots of bored kids left on the sidelines. Moreover, that particular venue may have been one near a park or on the outskirts of the town. Perhaps it was normally quiet there, so a safe hunting ground for the reclusive snake, which may’ve eaten rats and mice that in turn were attracted by garbage left from events.
Yet, on this hot June day, the snake suddenly found itself surrounded by people, so it hid in the flower garden. Perhaps some bored, boisterous kids disturbed it, maybe even unknowingly. Maybe they were playing near my grandmother, but she didn’t take notice, since she was watching the stage. Yet, feeling besieged, the snake lashed out, biting her instead of one of the kids who’d offended it.
Who knows what actually happened. I wonder if anyone yet living would be able to reconstruct that event – likely not. Likely, the mysterious snake will never be known.
References:
[1] C. Fisher, A. Joynt, and R.J. Brooks. Reptiles and Amphibians of Canada. Edmonton: Lone Pine Publishing, 2007.
[2] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake: Why Conserve a Venomous Snake? [Online]. Available at:fws.gov/midwest (accessed Mar 15, 2021).
Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.