118: Massasauga Rattlesnake
The Massasauga Rattlesnake is a small rattlesnake. There are three species – the eastern, the western, and the desert, of which the latter is the one that lives in Colorado. Their location across North America – stretching from Ontario to southeastern Arizona, with some disjunct populations in Colorado and northern Mexico – roughly follows the spread of grasslands following the retreat of the Pleistocene glaciers. In Colorado, they live in the southeastern plains, in dry grassland environments.
These snakes move across the landscape throughout the year, spending their spring and summers foraging in long grasses before returning in late summer/early autumn to the rodent tunnels where they will hibernate. During this time, females give birth and stay with their young for about a week, also utilizing the rodent tunnels to stay protected. They hibernate communally with other members of their species as well as with Prairie Rattlesnakes and other species of snake.
The name Massasauga is Ojibwe, meaning something like “great river mouth”.