Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
NH Conservation Status: State Endangered; Wildlife Action Plan Species in Greatest Need of Conservation
State Rank Status: Critically imperiled (S1)
Distribution: Historically ranged from Massachusetts border up to the White Mountains. Currently there is only one known population in NH.
Description: A large, thick black snake measuring 36-60 inches. Brown cross-bands arranged across the surface may be difficult to see. Has a large triangular head and keeled scales giving them a rough appearance. At the end of the tail there is a large, blunt rattle.
Commonly Confused Species: Milk snake, northern water snake, black racer snake; garter snake
Habitat: Rocky, south-facing hillsides in wooded areas that are exposed to an abundance of sunlight. Rock ledges and outcroppings on hilltops are used for basking. Deep rock crevices are used as den sites for hibernation. During summer their habitat expands to brushy, forested areas where they often bask in sunspots. Males may travel several miles from den sites during summer and return in the fall.
Life History: Timber rattlesnakes give birth to live young in the fall before returning to the den to hibernate from November until May. They den communally and will use the same den site for generations.
Conservation Threats: Habitat loss and destruction, disease, gravel mining, mortality on roadways, illegal collection or killing of snakes by humans.
Resources:
- Don't Be Rattled
(May/June 2019 NH Wildlife Journal) - Wildlife Action Plan Species Profile
- Protect the Timber Rattlesnake
- Timber Rattlesnake Monitoring - PIT Tagging
- Something Wild: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Rattlesnakes (New Hampshire Public Radio)
- Tree Removal Likely Improves Thermal Quality of Basking Sites for an Imperiled Timber Rattlesnake Population at the Northern Edge of its Range
- Decline of an isolated timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) population: Interactions between climate change, disease, and loss of genetic diversity.
- Snake Fungal Disease:
Timber rattlesnakes are a state endangered species and protected by state law.
In New Hampshire, most rattlesnakes (only one known population remaining!!!) are black with little or no pattern. (Photo by Mike Marchand)
The timber rattlesnake is the only snake in New Hampshire that actually has a rattle.
Other snakes may shake their tails that sound like a rattle! (Photo by Mike Marchand)
This rattlesnake, born in the previous fall, is vulnerable to a number of predators including hawks, coyotes, turkeys…
even other snakes. (Photo by Mike Marchand)
Rattles are used to warn potential intruders of the snakes' presence.
Timber rattlesnakes are NH's only venomous snake but also are docile and are unlikely to strike unless provoked or stepped on.
(Photo by Brendan Clifford)
New Hampshire timber rattlesnakes hibernate 6 months of the year leaving a short active season to feed and reproduce.
(Photo by Mike Marchand)
Timber rattlesnakes need rocky ledges where they retreat below the winter's frost line.
(Photo by Mike Marchand)
(Photos by Brendan Clifford)
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