Live-streaming video cameras of rattlesnake rookeries are surprising scientists with new discoveries about the slithering moms-to-be that gather by the hundreds to give birth in the "mega dens" in Colorado and California.
For one thing, researchers have discovered that the snakes sometimes share child-care of their "pups."
The young stay in the dens with their mothers until they venture out on their own, Dickinson College biology professor Scott Boback, who co-leads Project RattleCam, explained in an NPR interview.
In another surprise, Boback has witnessed the snake flatten, then coil their bodies into a kind of "teacup" to collect rainwater. They then turn their heads to sip from the "cup."
Boback said he's particularly pleased by comments by the snake-watching community who often notice details the researchers may not. A number of them have spotted certain patterns on individual snakes that help identify them.
"They're identifying individual snakes, and they can identify unique features on an individual and name the snake. That allows us to move forward in tracking individuals," he told NPR.
Watchers are also coming up with "the funnest of names" in the project's snake-naming contests, he noted, mentioning "Mr. Snaky Pants."
The project has posted several video highlights here.
The Colorado live cam can be seen here:
This is the den in California:
