Are you curious about the conservation of rattlesnakes in our area?

Join Hank Gruner for an historical overview of the decline of the timber rattlesnake in Connecticut, from colonial settlement to present day. Once widespread across New England, rattlesnakes were among the "new" animals, along with bear, wolves, and mountain lions, regarded as dangerous by the first settlers. Efforts to eradicate rattlesnakes led to the loss of many populations, including their complete extirpation in some states. Long-term declines persist, and the conservation of rattlesnake populations remains challenging. The historical decline of the timber rattlesnake will also be contrasted with the relative stability of populations of Connecticut’s only other venomous snake, the northern copperhead.

Hank Gruner is a herpetologist and retired Vice President of Programs for the Connecticut Science Center. Over the past 40 years he has scoured the forests, fields, and wetlands of Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York studying and promoting the conservation of amphibians and reptiles. He is co-author of Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles in Connecticut, a book recently published by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and a contributing author to the Timber Rattlesnake Conservation Action Plan, published by Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation in 2021. 

Presented in partnership with the Salisbury Association Land Trust.

Registration is required for this event. Please use the link below to register.

Recommended by Hank Gruner: Reading about Rattlesnakes

“Landscape with Reptile: Rattlesnakes in an Urban World” by Thomas Palmer, 1992. Tickner & Fields, A Houghton Mifflin Company, New York.

“America’s Snake: The Rise and Fall of the Timber Rattlesnake” by Ted Levin, 2016. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago

“Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles in Connecticut” by M.W. Klemens, H.J. Gruner, D.P. Quinn, and E.R. Davison. 2021. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Hartford, CT.

Books for Children

“Timber Rattlesnakes (In Winter, Where Do They Go?)” by J. Clark Sawyer. 2014. Bearport Books

“All About Rattlesnakes” by Jim Aronsky. 1997. Scholastic Press