12 Nebraskaland • July 2019
By Melissa J. Panella
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED:
THE WESTERN MASSASAUGA RATTLESNAKE
Snakes – people tend to love 'em or hate 'em. Snakes
can stir up all kinds of emotions and have unfortunately
long been considered nothing but trouble, particularly the
venomous variety. But, truth be told, a deer is more likely
to cause injury to a person than a venomous snake. A little
bit of precaution can go a long way toward avoiding a snake
bite. Nearly half of the reported snake bites of humans occur
when a person deliberately handles a snake.
In fact, snakes are fascinating creatures that can offer
benefits to people. For example, without snakes, a major
agent of pest control would be lost.
The western massasauga (Sistrurus tergeminus) is a small
pit viper native to the central and southwestern United
States. They are sit-and-wait predators that typically prey
on small, terrestrial vertebrates found in wet locations.
Massasaugas feed mostly on small mammals such as voles
and shrews. Larger mammals such as raccoons, foxes and
coyotes will prey on massasaugas. They are also taken by
hawks and even other snakes.
Massasaugas prefer moist soils in grassland habitats
located in only a handful of eastern Nebraska counties in the
tallgrass prairie ecoregion. They use crayfish burrows as dens.
These burrows provide seasonal cover for massasaugas and
are an important component of their habitat. Massasaugas
tend to den in locations for overwintering that will be
safe from flooding; however, floods have been known to
eliminate them from locations in the past.
Western massasaugas are on Nebraska's list of threatened
species. They are susceptible to a number of threats, but the
most significant has been the alteration and loss of their
habitat. As much as 98 percent of Nebraska's native tallgrass
prairie, which is the crucial habitat of the massasauga, has
been converted to other uses. The remaining massasaugas
rely on tracts of grassland in close proximity to wetlands
or ponds and lakes. Massasaugas are highly vulnerable to
changes in the core areas they inhabit, because they rarely
have access to corridors of habitat that allow them to
traverse distances more than a mile.
Massasaugas provide an important ecological service of
all-natural pest control. They are also a reminder of our
tallgrass prairie heritage. Massasaugas just need some space
in Nebraska's two percent of tallgrass prairie that endures.
PHOTO
BY
GERRY
STEINAUER
IN THE FIELD
