Customer Reviews

Timber Rattlesnakes in Vermont & New York: Biology, History, and the Fate of an Endangered Species

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The author has produced a very readable and accurate view of this vanishing American. I am unaware of any comparable book on the subject and I recommend it highly. Furman has obviously expended a huge amount of time in research, interviews and time spent in the field with other top experts. Very informative and entertaining. I will give it a prominent place in my nature library and believe anyone interested in ecology should obtain a copy.

Jon Furman's book is a wonderful, multidimensional account of the timber rattlesnake in New York and Vermont. It's a unique book about rattlesnakes and people, a natural history genre gaining momentum these days. Here, Furman has done a very impressive job of bringing together the many threads of scientific research on the timber rattlesnakes, and presenting them in an engaging way in a fast-paced account. By interviewing scientists and lay persons, including notorious rattlesnake hunters, the author's account is infused with fascinating natural history details, like the observation of a snake drinking water from between its coils during a heavy rain storm that punctuated the end of a very long dry period, or the traits that make them such perfect predators of rodents. The story of the snake's remarkable biology, revealed by elegant field research, is juxtaposed with the story of its dreadful persecution at the hands of bounty hunters in the years before the mid-nineteen seventies when the practice was discontinued. Yet, in spite of their being seriously decimated, many populations have recovered to some extent. This is in part due to the snake's cryptic coloration, coupled with the rugged terrain it inhabits, and in part due to the efforts of many concerned researchers and lay persons that led to its protection in New York and New England. Furman tells this success story in some detail, but it's not just a downbeat recounting of snake loss and a vilification of the hunters. Rather, Furman offers a sympathetic view into the lives and motivations of the bounty hunters, which is of historical interest, owing to the fact that he was able to speak with them while still living; most have since passed away. In these enlightened days, one wants to know how to protect nature, and Furman's advice for protecting rattlesnakes, along with his strong plea for their conservation, has some refreshingly new ideas, which are worth serious thought.
I teach a vertebrate ecology course, and ask my students to read a book on vertebrates, which they have to clear with me beforehand. They tend to gravitate towards sharks, whales, tigers and the like, but I keep a copy on my desk of some good natural history books on less well-known or, as is the case here, well-liked animals, and when they ask for my advice, which they frequently do, I hold this book in front of them and say, "Here's a book that you will be very glad you read!"

This is a tirelessly researched and entertaining book for both the professional and curious layman alike. More than five years in the making, it documents the near extinction of a unique and fascinating species through fear and ignorance that continues to this day. A stew of back country characters, folk lore, scientific inquiry and the artist's eye for story telling makes this a must read for anyone concerned with conservation and the fate of the natural world.

Timber rattlesnakes were once found across much of the eastern United States east of the Mississippi River but are now exterminated or found more often in geographically restricted areas. Furman's book covers the current northern limit of the species' range in the east, focusing on a pocket encompassing three counties in New York and one adjacent county in Vermont where bounties on this species over a 75-year span led to elimination or decimation of most populations. Since the bounties were legally discontinued by state laws in the 1970s, many of these populations have recovered to some extent. The snake's recovery process has been followed and enhanced for the past 40 years by a handful of dedicated biologists and concerned citizens whose contributions are detailed in this book.

The book's chapters include a broad introduction to the biology of timber rattlesnakes, information on maximum sizes attainted, effects and treatment of snakebite with case histories, fossil record, current distribution, history of bounty hunting, and chapters on each of three famous (or notorious) bounty hunters and their families including interviews with the surviving ones. There are photographs of biologists, bounty hunters, snakebites, and timber rattlesnakes, plus color maps of the species' former and current distributions. The final chapter, entitled "Rays of Hope" reemphasizes the elimination of bounties, the establishment of formal endangered status, and the willingness of many residents to refrain from killing 'nuisance' snakes and instead to cooperate with conservationists to relocate them unharmed to other places nearby. These workers also give frequent public talks about the nature of the snakes and the need for conservation. Such talks continue to be necessary as these professionals struggle with pressures from real estate developers and industrialists wanting to destroy critical habitat for timber rattlesnakes. Testifying in court cases may also sometimes be required.

I've had the good fortune to have spent many hours in the field and at conferences with the author and many of the biologists and colleagues whose work forms the crux of this book. Over the years, I have been overwhelmed with their knowledge and dedication to the welfare of this most complex, fascinating, and sophisticated species of snake. Several have contributed their entire professional careers to this species and have expended their own funds to study the species or buy lands for its protection. My appreciation for the snakes themselves has also grown after seeing their quiet and retiring nature in the field. Furman's book is well worth the read as it captures this species' natural history and many insights about nature, enabling conservation for the future through solid and intimate knowledge of timber rattlesnakes.