Livestream Offers a Close-Up View of Thousands of Rattlesnakes in a ‘Mega Den’

If Vanderpump Rules doesn’t feature enough hissing and venom for you, boy does the California Polytechnic State University have a show for you. 

Since July 11, a team from the school has maintained a live feed of a “mega den” of prairie rattlesnakes. Viewers can check in on the thousands of highly venomous rattlers, many of whom are pregnant, as they go about their snakey business. During the day, that seems to mostly be lying around and basking in the sun, but the researchers say watchful viewers have a chance to see some rare activity, including defensive behavior against predators that wander into the den or snakes emerging from their hiding spots to drink up rain.

Rattlesnakes usually give birth in late summer or early fall, so there will be many new additions to the den. Unlike most snake species, rattlers don’t lay eggs but give birth to up to 13 live babies at a time.

The live feed is part of Project RattleCam, a collaboration between CPSU, Central Coast Snake Services, and Dickinson College that aims to raise awareness of rattlesnakes and their importance to the ecosystem while also learning about how the snakes maintain body temperature, conserve water, and avoid getting sunburns.

The den, which is located on an undisclosed private property in Colorado, can be viewed on the Project RattleCam website or YouTube. Viewers are invited to inform the team of their observations, which so far have included rodents bumbling into the den at night. Male snakes are expected to return from hunting in September, at which point it’s expected the massive knot of snakes will hibernate and the feed will go dormant until spring. 

It’s not the first time the team has offered the public a close-up view of the Colorado mega hive. Previously, they had a still camera installed that took a picture every five minutes, resulting in a time-lapse feed, but the new solar-powered video camera gives much more insight into the snake’s habits and behavior. 

“This livestream allows us to collect data on wild rattlesnakes without disturbing them, facilitating unbiased scientific discovery,” said Emily Taylor, the leader of the project and a Cal Poly biological sciences professor in a press release. “But even more important is that members of the public can watch wild rattlesnakes behaving as they naturally do, helping to combat the biased imagery we see on television shows of rattling, defensive and stressed snakes interacting with people who are provoking them.”

The feed can be a tad dull during peak sun hours, so the researchers advise viewers interested in what passes for drama on a nature live feed to tune in during the morning and early evening.