National Geographic: King Rattler Page #3

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in Bruce Means's hand,

and now the scientist was discovering

that the cure was as bad as the bite.

Twenty-six vials of antivenin

were pumped into his veins

to stem the tide of

the snake's poison.

But the medicine proved

an even more lethal toxin,

because Means was allergic to it.

People around me could see

the twitching that goes on

a thing called muscular fasciculation.

The hair follicles around the mouth

and I'm fully bearded

move in a circular motion.

My whole face was involved in these

strange rhythmical movements of the skin,

which are characteristic of

Eastern diamondback snake bites.

He spent ten days hovering

between recovery and death,

often in intensive care, as

his body rebelled against the antivenin.

But he survived.

And less than 24 hours

after he left the hospital,

he was back at work, back to

the snakes that nearly killed him.

What is the allure?

Why is Means willing to risk

the snake's fatal attraction?

You know,

this is a magnificent creature.

It's at the pinnacle of evolution

and we know so little about it.

Apart from its beauty and its mystery,

it has a rightful place in nature.

And now, it's at risk.

It's actually a very benign creature.

It likes to lie coiled up

and hidden waiting for food and,

once in a rare while, for a mate.

The survival of the Eastern diamondback

depends on bogs like this

and on these dwindling

stands of longleaf pines,

a once vast torrent of forest

that tumbled south

and west from Virginia to Texas.

These lofty but threatened woodlands

sustain an immense web of wildlife

and are the keystone to the

Eastern diamondback's survival.

The powerful connection between

the pines and the diamondbacks

was little understood when Bruce Means

arrived in Florida's woodlands.

The snake was feared and hunted,

but never studied.

More than 20 years ago,

Means pioneered the use

of radio signals

to track the Eastern diamondback's

behavior.

He carefully introduced a harmless,

mouse sized transmitter

into the sedated snakes,

which beamed their whereabouts.

In summer, he combs the forests

for his latest subject.

At this point, sometimes I get

so close that I can't see them.

They're camouflaged very well

in the grass.

I have to be very careful

I don't step on one.

Ah, there it is. Whew!

A big one.

Little head. Whoa!

Big body.

Hello? Who are you?

Whoa, is he heavy.

Look at the size. Oh!

This is a big snake, but it's not

nearly as big as rattlesnakes

get the Eastern diamondback.

This guy is about four and a half

feet long and I would estimate

about five and a half

to six pounds in weight.

They come a lot bigger.

A ten pound snake, is not uncommon,

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