Rattlesnake Selfies are not recommended

[chumley]

His mom seems to have summed it up perfectly. (emphasis and emoticon added)

A Lake Elsinore man was bitten by a rattlesnake Monday as he picked it up and attempted to take a selfie.
Alex Gomez, 36, spotted the four-foot rattler in a field by his family’s ranch on Cielito Drive, shortly before he made the potentially deadly mistake.

“I’m shocked that he would have that thing around his neck ,” Alex’s mother Deborah said. “It could’ve bit his neck, and that would have been it. That’s just being a fool.”

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/08/ ... ttlesnake/

[AZWanderingBear]

You just cain't cure stupid.

[CannondaleKid]

You just cain't cure stupid.

I do say there Wanderin' Bar, a selfie with a scatter gun wud prob'ly cure stoopid jus' fine, thank ye!

Whut's that you say? Too much mess fur ye? Well, I s'pose a 9mm between them beadie eyes would do

[Dave1]

Check out this guy harassing snakes at GCNP:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InCBGbD_L6c&t=33m8s

[azbackpackr]

@Dave1
Illegal, of course. Probably didn't get caught.

[chumley]

Check out this guy harassing snakes

On HAZ it's called Wildlife Handling and Feeding.
;)

[PatrickL]

It says "attempted." After all of that he didn't even get the shot?

Edit: I didn't watch the video. He got it!

[joebartels]

Do we need another sign on camelback just to be safe?

Is it really illegal to handle a snake in Arizona?

[Grasshopper]

Do we need another sign on camelback just to be safe?

Is it really illegal to handle a snake in Arizona?

I personally hope it is illegal.

[skatchkins]

Did that blue dress newslady get bit too?

[chumley]

Is it really illegal to handle a snake in Arizona?

Arizona Revised Statutes prohibit you from "taking" wildlife (hunting excluded of course) and also state that you can't "possess" wildlife.

Federal Statutes prevent "taking" of species which are "threatened" or "endangered" under the Federal Endangered Species Act.

The Federal Endangered Species Act defines "taking" as any attempt to "harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect". What they consider to be harassment is probably up for discussion.

Since the video was in the National Park, and if the legal definition of harassment was being met then it would only be illegal if that snake is recognized as a threatened or endangered species.

I don't know if state law uses the same definition of "taking" as defined in the Federal Endangered Species Act. That definition does not appear in ARS.

[AZWanderingBear]

I do say there Wanderin' Bar, a selfie with a scatter gun wud prob'ly cure stoopid jus' fine, thank ye!

Whut's that you say? Too much mess fur ye? Well, I s'pose a 9mm between them beadie eyes would do

Well there's that. Or you might try counseling.

[gummo]

Do we need another sign on camelback just to be safe?

Is it really illegal to handle a snake in Arizona?

No, not in AZ, but it is illegal in Nat'l Parks unless you are moving out of harm's way, like if the snake is in the road or too close to a bathroom or campsite. A park ranger told me that.

It might be illegal to handle venomous snakes if you pin their head, as that would be harrassment, in my opinion.

[azbackpackr]

At Grand Canyon it is illegal to approach wildlife. Period. There are quite a few signs up. Now, the citation they give you for walking up to a deer probably isn't going to carry a big fine, but it IS illegal to willfully approach wildlife.

[JasonCleghorn]

Check out this guy harassing snakes at GCNP:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InCBGbD_L6c&t=33m8s

I almost cannot believe what I just saw... Terrible, just awfully terrible.

[CannondaleKid]

@Jason Cleghorn If someone passes the link on to the Park Service i wouldn't doubt there might be a stern warn in the future of the poster.

Reminds me of the guys that rode their bikes through part of the canyon and the posted video came back and bit them.

[Tortoise_Hiker]

bit them.

I see what you did there.