Respecting the Rattlesnakes on the Palos Verdes Peninsula

By PV Native Adventurer Bryce Trevett

I can remember the day I had my first rattle snake encounter like it was yesterday. I was just a young child and was on a hike in Palos Verdes led by my uncle who is a biologist with a special interest in herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians. My mother and younger sister were also on this hike. Even at this age, I had a huge passion for animals and my uncle was hoping to show me some of the local wildlife species up close and personal. He had a lifetime of vast experience working with reptiles in the field through academic research. My uncle was guiding us through the trails bordered by a sea of brush and bright yellow mustard plant that towered well over my height. It was so thick that I couldn’t even see through it. Suddenly, my uncle stopped, put his hand up, and told everyone to stop and be quiet. He stood and listened. None of us could hear anything at all, but he told us to stay put as he slowly walked off the trail and vanished into the thick sea of head high mustard plants. A moment later he yelled “ Rattlesnake! Everyone move back, I am coming out with it now!”

My mother was freaking out and corralled my sister and I next to her. My uncle came crashing through the brush back onto the trail with a huge rattlesnake in his bare hands! It was rattling so loud that I couldn’t even hear anyone talking. It completely drowned out all other noises. All you could hear was the maraca like tail shaking at full speed and volume. At that moment, my eyes were as big as they could possibly be and my heart rate was through the roof. I had tunnel vision fixated on this remarkable and impressive sight. My younger sister was crying with fear, but I was filled with excitement and exuberance. I had never seen something so impressive in my life. Both the animal and the fact that my uncle detected this animal in an environment with absolutely no visibility had me in awe. At the time I didn't understand how he heard the subtle sound of a rattlesnake pushing through the brush, but later on in life I honed that very skill and regularly found rattlesnakes by actually hearing them move, not rattle. My uncle was carefully restraining the animal with his hands in a way that was both safe for the snakes health as well as ours. A gentle but firm grip behind the head and the base of the tail. My uncle took a knee to get down on my level and then asked “ Bryce, would you like to come touch it?”

He assured me that he was holding it in such a way that was safe for me to come closer. I didn’t hesitate for one second before walking up to and placing my fingers on the snakes back. I ran them down the back and all the way to the shaking rattle. Rattle snakes have keeled scales with a ridge in the middle of every single individual scale. It makes them feel rough to the touch. The skin was not slimy, but very dry. I could feel the muscles just under the skin moving and flexing. As I got to the rattle, my uncle told me to lightly pinch it between two fingers. It immediately stopped rattling when I did this, as if I pressed some kind of “off” switch. When I released, the rattle turned right back on. My uncle was teaching me how the rattle works. The rattle is connected by individual, loosely interlocking segments. When shaken at such a high speed, the segments work together to make the shaking sound. It was so cool! I was just losing my mind with amazement.

After a few minutes of learning more about the rattlesnake, my uncle then gently put the snake on the ground and released his grip. The snake quickly slithered away, back into the thick brush and disappeared. You could still hear the rattle shaking even many yards away as we continued our hike down the trail. I will never forget that moment. The encounter was captivating and ignited a lifelong interest and passion for myself in nature that has taken me all over the world and a life of both countless academic and personal accomplishments pursuing this wild life passion.

My name is Bryce and I am now 30 years old. Since that encounter with the rattlesnake when I was little, I have traveled the world working with wildlife in every area imaginable. In high school, I started working with a professor from La Sierra University named Dr. Grismer. I accompanied him and his academic team to the countries of Malaysia and Cambodia in search of new species of reptiles and amphibians. We hiked into deep, remote, landmine riddled sections of rainforest and discovered many new species. I worked in Brazil twice assisting with research on giant river otters, jaguars, anacondas, maned wolves, and caimans. I have spent many months working in Costa Rica with Cano Palma Biological station doing PIT tag studies with venomous rainforest snakes. I have been to Africa working with crocodiles and animal planet, camped out in Australia's outback looking for the world's most venomous snake, and recently assisted a biologist in Costa Rica on an amazing project with sea turtles. This biologist, Helen Pheasey, designed 3D printed sea turtle eggs with GPS tracking devices inside them. We were able to slip these fake GPS eggs into sea turtle nests on the beach at night and track poachers who then poached the eggs. While doing less research now, I travel to do wildlife photography and videography as a hobby and post the images/videos with educational messages and captions.

At some point in my life, I realized that being in the field is what I love and not writing papers in the classroom or lab. The academic side of things just wasn’t for me and not what I wanted to do long term. I wanted to find a way to make a living doing something I love, that gives me the opportunity to travel, produce wildlife photography and videography, and assist in the field on research projects when I can offer my expertise and assistance during off days. So, I am now working as a flight attendant and just recently received my commercial pilots license. This career path, although an unusual one to take in order to achieve these goals, has given me all the opportunity and all the pathways I could ever want to best fulfill my wild life passions in the way I want. I love finding these animals, teaching others about them, and inspiring people to have an appreciation for them. I want others to see the beauty in the small things, especially the creatures that so often get vilified and misunderstood such as rattlesnakes. I do this through my videos and photography on my youtube and instagram accounts, both titled “Take to the Wild.”

It is now springtime! Both hikers and snakes are out enjoying the sunshine here on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Below is a video of a live rattlesnake encounter in Palos Verdes. At this point in my life, I have worked with thousands of rattlesnakes and other venomous snakes around the globe. I have a vast amount of knowledge about them and it is my pleasure to make use of that in the way of education to the public and those who are afraid of and misunderstand them. This video is meant to hopefully put some of the fear and panic at ease during any future rattlesnake encounters and provide education on how to behave in an encounter, as well as what to do and what not to do if you are ever accidentally bitten by a venomous snake while out hiking. As a disclaimer, never attempt to catch or handle any wild snake unless you are a professional and can accurately identify what you are looking at. Any wild snake will bite if picked up. It is always best to observe and admire from a safe distance. A rattlesnake bite is both extremely expensive to treat as well as come with the possibility of permanent physical damage.

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Bio:

Bryce Trevett, 30, is a wildlife enthusiast who has spent his life working with animals. He has assisted on wildlife research projects in six different countries, has been published in academic journals, acknowledged in field guides describing south East Asian reptiles and amphibians, and has spent time in many more locations photographing/filming animals on his own time as a hobby. He grew up in Palos Verdes, Ca where his passion for wildlife was sparked at an early age. Bryce studied herpetology at La Sierra University, and received a natural sciences degree from Los Angeles Harbor College. He spent many years volunteering at the Los Angeles zoo and a wildlife education center in Southern California. Throughout the years Bryce has worked as an emergency medical technician on an ambulance and in the emergency department. Bryce has most recently been working as a flight attendant for a major airline which allows him to travel around the world pursuing his wildlife goals and endeavors. He is currently in a pilot academy attaining his commercial pilots license. This career allows him to make a good living while at the same time allowing him to accomplish all his wildlife ambitions. Bryce spends his free time hiking, surfing, free diving, photographing wildlife, and participating in two step country dancing.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXNFvjuLPccIvz5WP-CFUHw/featured