A colony of venomous rattlesnakes is to be established on an uninhabited island in Massachusetts in a bid to save a species that has been virtually wiped out in the state.



Massachusetts’ division of fisheries and wildlife has devised a plan to release timber rattlesnakes onto the island to build up a viable population. But some residents fear that the rattlesnakes, which are capable of swimming, will escape the island and maraud across areas frequented by people and their pets.

The plan will involve taking eight young snakes – each measuring four to five feet – from a captive breeding program and releasing them onto Mount Zion, an island in the Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts. The island, which is 1,350 acres in size and 3.6 miles in length, is uninhabited and is considered prime rattlesnake territory as it has undisturbed forest and boulders for shelter, with plenty of chipmunks and mice to feast upon.

It is hoped that the snakes raised at the zoo in Providence, Rhode Island, will be hardy enough to survive predators and establish a colony on the island. A healthy colony population is 150 snakes but officials are first aiming for a group of 35 snakes.

Hundreds of thousands of timber rattlesnakes once slithered across what was to be become Massachusetts prior to Europeans’ arrival in the region. But mass deforestation, combined with persecution of rattlesnakes which, along with hawks, bobcats and other animals, had bounties on their heads, saw their numbers crash.

There are just five populations of timber rattlesnakes, comprising perhaps 200 individuals, left in the state. Tom French, assistant director of the Massachusetts division of fisheries and wildlife, said it is “amazing” that any still exist, although pressures are mounting.

“People think we don’t have them here, but they’ve been around forever,” he said. “It’s not like we are introducing some exotic new species here. We are close to losing them. They are so isolated now that there’s no natural way for them to repopulate. They aren’t like birds that can fly somewhere else.”

But while French and his team have found public support for their efforts to bolster other endangered species, such as bald eagles, there has been some resistance to the idea of creating a snake island in the heart of the state. His office has been bombarded by calls from people concerned that hordes of snakes will invade their homes.

A dirt and stone road leads to Mount Zion Island, at rear, at the Quabbin Reservoir in Petersham, Massachusetts. Photograph: Clif Read/Massachusetts department of conservation and Recreation/AP

Bob Curley, president of the North Quabbin Trails Association, believes his 18-month-old collie, Celtz, was bitten by a rattlesnake in June, causing the dog’s nose to bleed uncontrollably.

“When the inevitable happens and there is an interplay between a hiker and a rattler, what’s the repercussion?” Curley told AP. “Are the trails around the Quabbin going to be shut down?”

However, it appears that rattlesnakes currently have more reasons to be fearful. French said that hikers regularly decapitate snakes when they encounter them, despite the animals being protected. Car strikes and illegal wildlife captures also threaten the species. What’s more, there hasn’t been a fatal bite from a timber rattlesnake in Massachusetts since colonial times.

“The snakes can swim but if they got to the mainland they wouldn’t be a risk because they can’t hibernate anywhere there,” he said. “There’s a bald eagle nest nearby and those eagles would swoop down and eat them up in a heartbeat. Even if they have the motivation to go to the mainland, we will be tracking the snakes and can just pick any up that go rogue.

“But some people are just afraid of snakes. They will just say ‘I don’t believe you’ and I don’t think they will ever change their minds. Even people in downtown Boston are emotionally upset that we are doing this in a part of the state they never visit. It’s hard to talk to some people rationally about this.”

The first relocation of snakes will take place in spring next year, should all go as planned.