Western U.S. Heat Also Tough on Animals

Posted on July 16, 2007

The heat and drought has been oppressive this year for humans but the risiing temperatures and lack of water is also very tough on wildlife. This news story from CBS explains how hard global warming will be on different types of creatures. Some may become more aggressive as they search for food and water. Local snake wranglers are getting more calls as rattlesnakes venture close to people's homes. Animals that live on the tops of mountains may go extinct as they have no where to go and ultimately perish in the abnormally high temperatures.

Rattlesnakes - everywhere. More than Bo Slyapich has seen in his 20-year career as a snake wrangler. The prolonged drought and extreme heat have combined to drive the thirsty and venomous creatures too close for comfort - back decks, play equipment - anywhere they can find shade.
What do they want?
"Food. Just like you go to the supermarket to go shopping, they come to our homes to go shopping," Slyapich says.
Not too far from the steps to homeowner Tom Mahan's family pool, there was a four-foot rattlesnake.
He's found them even sipping from his pool. Now he's taken protective measures.
"Half-inch grid galvanized fencing around the three-acre perimeter here, which keeps 99 percent of any kind of snakes out," Mahan said.
Deer and coyotes are coming down from the hills, too. A disoriented bear climbed up a utility pole in triple-digit heat.
"It is uncharted territory," said Paul Edelman of the Santa Monica Mountain Conservatory. "It is the equivalent of the stories you see on the big droughts in the African Serengetti plains where the animals drop three feet in front of the water hole."

This CBS video shows some of the snake wrangler removing rattle snakes from people's yard. It also shows some of the animals that are suffering.

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HEAT WAVE