Sheila and Larry Leaton found this timber rattlesnake on their property located between Fayette and the Highway 5 and 3 intersection last weekend (Aug. 18 or 19). Sheila spied the snake in a pile of old tools and steel that were stored underneath a plastic tarp in the woods. Larry shot the snake and he and his wife held up the 5-foot long snake for a photograph. They counted 12 rattles (also called “buttons”) on the snake “which makes for a rather large timber rattler since most rattles stay broken off after 6 or 7 rattles,” Larry wrote in an email.

Leaton wished to share his discovery of the venomous snake simply to make people aware that timber rattlers do live in Howard County. He said, “Folks don’t need to be scared, but aware.” He added, half-joking, “I may start calling my place Leatons Rattlesnake Woods!”

Fortunately, 88 percent of Missouri’s snakes are nonvenomous and snake bites are rare. The Missouri Department of Conservation website quotes one snake expert as saying, “You’re more likely to be struck by falling space debris than be bitten by a snake in Missouri.” There are only two recorded human deaths in Missouri due to the bite of a venomous snake. the first death happened in 1965 and the fatal snake bite came from a copperhead. The second one occurred this summer. A man was bitten by a copperhead snake earlier this summer in Southeast Missouri and died in July.