Community Corner
Canyon Rattler ID: Speckled Rattlesnake
A day after hard rains unleashed a flash flood in Mill Creek Canyon, the rattler was trying to catch rays on Aug. 18.
A rattlesnake spotted last weekend in Mill Creek Canyon east of Redlands and Loma Linda has been identified by a specialist at Loma Linda University.
William K. Hayes, Ph.D. and Professor of Biology in the university's Department of Earth and Biological Sciences, examined Redlands-Loma Patch photos of the rattler and determined it is a Speckled Rattlesnake, also known as Crotalus mitchellii pyrrhus.
"The species is quite common in the rocky habitats of southern California," Hayes said Thursday Aug. 23 in an email. "What's particularly interesting about the species is that it varies in color from mountain range to mountain range."
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The rattler pictured in this report was trying to in the rocks near Big Falls on Saturday Aug. 18, one day after .
Rattlesnakes are common in summer months in Mill Creek Canyon.
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For more information about Hayes and his research on venomous snakes, visit www.llu.edu/behavioral-health/ebs/hayes.
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