The Coontail Rattler Who Ate The Easter Bunny

April, 25, 2011

Had a nice Easter get together yesterday at our house. Deena and Frank drove in from LA, Thomas and Pattarapan drove up from Phoenix. James Radina drove in from San Diego. Brad and the "The Prom King" EJ Radina drove in from Peoria and Debbie Radina motored in from Surpise and brought Grandma Betty from Sun City.

Much of the talk was about the rattler who ate the Easter Bunny.

On Saturday I went out to feed the chickens and when I went over to the corner to turn on the water, I noticed a coon-tail. Not any ol' coontail, but a coontail of the coontail rattlesnake variety. The back end of the rattler went into a hole next to a palo verde tree and on the other side of the tree was a little bunny, sleeping. Or, so it seemed at first. I could clearly see he was breathing and twitching. On closer inspection I noticed that, next to him was the head of the aforementioned rattler. Here's a photo of that scene:

When the critter stopped moving, the coontail rattler unhinged his jaw and ate that Easter Bunny whole:

I'm not a snake expert, but I've heard that coontail rattlers are the most dangerous kind. Unlike other rattlers, they don't always give you a courtesy rattle to warn you off. And, while most rattlers want nothing to do with you, and will retreat, a coontail is much more aggressive and will attack, without warning.

So, obviously I could not allow this desert dweller to continue to live in my yard. I did let him enjoy his last meal, however.

"A snake in your hand is better than a snake on your leg."
—Old Vaquero Saying