Current:Home > StocksNew livestream shows hundreds of rattlesnakes, many of them pregnant, congregating at "mega-den" in Colorado-LoTradeCoin
New livestream shows hundreds of rattlesnakes, many of them pregnant, congregating at "mega-den" in Colorado
View Date:2024-12-23 21:40:00
An intimate new livestream is giving scientists a closer look into the lives of rattlesnakes, which are historically challenging to study. Positioned to face a massive "mega-den" filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of prairie rattlesnakes wedged between rocks somewhere in northern Colorado, the stream is available to watch on YouTube so interested members of the public can observe the creatures themselves, too, and even contribute to the research effort.
The Colorado livestream is part of a community science initiative called Project Rattle Cam that aims to collect real-time data on a normally enigmatic species of venomous reptile. Rattlesnakes are found almost everywhere in the continental United States, the National Wildlife Federation writes, but experts often note how researching them is difficult for several reasons, including their rugged habitats and secretive behavior.
Project Rattle Cam launched the latest livestream with funding from donors and technology designed by faculty and technicians at California Polytechnic State University's Bailey College of Science and Mathematics, the university said. It overlooks a massive den in a remote part of northern Colorado. The exact location has not been revealed, but Cal Poly said it is on private land.
The live feed is an upgrade from Project Rattle Cam's earlier means to involve interested people on the internet in a study of rattlesnakes in the American West, which shared time-lapse photographs from certain congregation sites online.
"This livestream allows us to collect data on wild rattlesnakes without disturbing them, facilitating unbiased scientific discovery," said Emily Taylor, a biological sciences professor at Cal Poly who leads Project Rattle Cam, in a statement. "But even more important is that members of the public can watch wild rattlesnakes behaving as they naturally do, helping to combat the biased imagery we see on television shows of rattling, defensive and stressed snakes interacting with people who are provoking them."
People watching the stream can tune in at any time to see the creatures as they exist in their day-to-day: piled atop one another, basking in the sun, drinking rain water, shedding their skin, interacting in other ways and sometimes receiving visitors, like small rodents attempting to attack. Dozens of rattlesnakes in the mega-den are currently pregnant, according to Cal Poly, so viewers should also be able to watch the snakes begin to rear their young later this summer. Researchers said the best times to check out the live feed are in the morning or early evening, and community observations are always welcome in the YouTube feed's accompanying live chat.
Project Rattle Cam operates another livestream that tracks a smaller western rattlesnake den along the central coast of California. For the last three years, that feed has observed the den during warmer seasons, when the snakes emerge from their shelter, Cal Poly said. That stream is also set up at an undisclosed location and went live again on July 11.
- In:
- Colorado
- Snake
- California
- Science
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She covers breaking news, often focusing on crime and extreme weather. Emily Mae has previously written for outlets including the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.
Twitter InstagramveryGood! (9251)
Related
- Jake Paul's only loss led him to retool the team preparing him to face Mike Tyson
- Vanderpump Rules' James Kennedy Addresses Near-Physical Reunion Fight With Tom Sandoval
- An Iowa Couple Is Dairy Farming For a Climate-Changed World. Can It Work?
- Fearing More Pipeline Spills, 114 Groups Demand Halt to Ohio Gas Project
- Caitlin Clark's gold Nike golf shoes turn heads at The Annika LPGA pro-am
- Jennifer Lopez’s Contour Trick Is Perfect for Makeup Newbies
- What to know about xylazine, the drug authorities are calling a public safety threat
- I Couldn't ZipUup My Jeans Until I Put On This Bodysuit With 6,700+ 5-Star Amazon Reviews
- Gisele Bündchen Makes First Major Appearance Since Pregnancy
- Megan Fox Rocks Sheer Look at Sports Illustrated Event With Machine Gun Kelly
Ranking
- Parts of Southern California under quarantine over oriental fruit fly infestation
- Federal judge in Texas hears case that could force a major abortion pill off market
- This Week in Clean Economy: Dueling Solyndra Ads Foreshadow Energy-Centric Campaign
- 48 Hours investigates the claims and stunning allegations behind Vincent Simmons' conviction
- Review: 'Emilia Pérez' is the most wildly original film you'll see in 2024
- Blinken arrives in Beijing amid major diplomatic tensions with China
- A months-long landfill fire in Alabama reveals waste regulation gaps
- How XO, Kitty's Anna Cathcart Felt About That Special Coming Out Scene
Recommendation
-
Worker trapped under rubble after construction accident in Kentucky
-
Megan Fox Rocks Sheer Look at Sports Illustrated Event With Machine Gun Kelly
-
Northeast Aims to Remedy E.V. ‘Range Anxiety’ with 11-State Charging Network
-
Inside the Love Lives of the Fast and Furious Stars
-
Sister Wives’ Kody Brown Explains His Stance on His Daughter Gwendlyn Brown’s Sexuality
-
Uh-oh. A new tropical mosquito has come to Florida. The buzz it's creating isn't good
-
Coasts Should Plan for 6.5 Feet Sea Level Rise by 2100 as Precaution, Experts Say
-
Florida bans direct-to-consumer auto sales but leaves carve-out for Tesla