Experts say that unseasonably warm weather across much of the Western United States is causing rattlesnake activity to increase earlier than normal. Photo: Duncan Sanchez//Unsplash
A rattlesnake bit a 46-year-old woman on March 14 in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California. The victim, identified as Gabriela Bautista, passed away five days later on March 19.
The fatality comes weeks after a 25-year-old man, Julian Hernandez, passed away from a rattlesnake bite he received while mountain biking at Quail Hill Trailhead in Orange County, California.
Experts say the record-breaking temperatures across the western U.S. this spring have made rattlesnakes more active earlier in the season.
Dr. William Hayes, a biology professor at Loma Linda University, told NBCLA that peak rattlesnake mating season is usually April and May.
“These are creatures that respond to environmental cues,” said Hayes. “Temperature is very prominent in regulating their behavior.”
According to the Thousand Oaks Acorn, the bite occurred around 11:40 a.m. on March 14. The victim was taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center via helicopter.
A second rattlesnake bite occurred in the Thousand Oaks area on March 20 when a teenage girl who fell from her bike was bitten near the Wendy Drive Trailhead. Firefighters extricated the victim on a stretcher, also taking her to Los Robles Regional Medical Center. Reports say the anti-venom was successfully administered, and she is in stable condition.
Other heat-stricken areas of Southern California have also reported an increase in snake activity.
“In the last two weeks we’ve had a lot of activity, a little more than normal,” Melissa Borde, manager at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach, told KTLA. “In one day, I had three reports from the public.”
“With the warm forecast over the next couple of weeks, I think they’re going to be pretty active,” she added. “And not just rattlesnakes, you’ll see gopher snakes and other reptiles.”
