After a woman was bit by a rattlesnake in Kamloops yesterday, at Cooney Bay, WildSafeBC is offering advice.
Coordinator Vanessa Isnardy says rattlesnakes aren’t interested in biting humans, and say they only do that as a last resort.
She says to stay two metres away from rattlesnakes as a rule of thumb, just like social distancing with other humans during the current pandemic.
“The most important thing is when you’re exploring trails where rattlesnakes are known to occur, be cautious of where you’re stepping and where you’re walking, and making sure you don’t put your feet and hands in places where you can’t see. Rattlesnakes can be hard to spot, they’re very well camouflaged. And they will tend to lie still as their primary mode of defence.”
Isnardy says it’s very uncommon for humans to be bitten by rattlesnakes and says it more often happens to pets, and she advises to keep your pet on a leash if you’re taking it into a rattlesnake habitat.
“If you do get bit, do not try to suck out the venom. That is a myth. Go to the nearest hospital. So this person did the right thing, they called 911 and had the ambulance meet them. And also you want to make sure that you don’t add anything to the bite, like ice or anything else. You can rinse the wound and wash it with some soap, but in general you want to head to the hospital.”
The woman bit at Cooney Bay is said to be recovering in hospital from her wounds.
Isnardy says with adult rattlesnakes, luckily, bites are very often dry bites that don’t have any venom. But she points out it can be very painful.
“So of course it’s best to avoid approaching a rattlesnake, giving it a respectful distance, and never try to handle a rattlesnake unless you are trained to do so and know what you’re doing. It is actually illegal to capture, harm or kill a rattlesnake, as they are a protected species.”
The northern pacific rattlesnake commonly lives in the dry belt of southern B.C., according to WildSafeBC; from Lytton to the Ashcroft area to Kamloops and Chase, throughout the Okanagan, and in other pockets of the province like Grand Forks, Keremeos and Princeton.
