A California rattlesnake has been filmed lunging at a snake catcher in slow motion.
In the slow motion video, posted to Facebook page So-Cal Rattlesnake Removal, a rattlesnake can be seen poised to strike in an enclosure with an open door. It is flicking its tongue and the “rattle” of its tail can be heard in the background.
So-Cal Rattlesnake Removal is a business owned by Alex Trejo, who works to remove the snakes from populated areas. In areas where the species is widespread, this is not uncommon. They are then released outside, in their natural habitat, and away from humans.
Rattlesnakes are venomous and bites can be incredibly dangerous if they go untreated. But they are rarely fatal. The snakes are not usually aggressive, but they will attack if they feel threatened.
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Trejo told Newsweek: “The snake was being filmed so the snake was on alert by the camera.”
Before they strike, rattlesnakes typically coil their body and start to rattle their tail. The snakes rattle to warn others of their presence, and to ward off predators in the wild.
“Don’t blink!” a caption to the video says. “This is one for the books! Without slow motion this was lighting fast!”
Approximately 44 seconds into the video, the rattlesnake then lunges towards the snake catcher with its mouth open.
With the force of the snake’s strike, the camera then falls backwards onto the floor.
“Dang!!!! That was awesome. How close did he come to you?” one Facebook user commented on the video.
“Well let’s just say it hit the phone so hard it knocked it out of my hand,” the snake catcher wrote in response.
“So obvious question is: WHY??” another Facebook user commented.
It is not clear what happened in the moments following the strike, but it appears the snake catcher’s phone took most of the hit.
Another social media user said: “This was awesome but your okay right?”
“When I see those long tongue flicks like that is a pretty good sign a bite is close,” someone else wrote.
Rattlesnakes are common across California and are found across all sorts of terrain, from the desert to the coast.
The snake season in California usually begins in the second half of April and the beginning of May, as the weather warms up.
In October, Trejo’s snake-catcher tongs were left streaked with venom after removing a rattlesnake from a California home.
Footage of the incident was shared to his Facebook page, where the venomous snake can be seen lunging for his tongs.
“A customer saw the snake go into a large pile of wood, so when I arrived I started removing all the wood,” Trejo previously told Newsweek. “Eventually I found the snake and was able to get it out quickly.”
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