Rattlesnake

Rattle snakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small animals such as birds and rodents.However, rattlesnakes fall prey to hawks, weasels, king snakes, and a variety of other species. Rattlesnake bites are the leading cause of snakebite injuries in North America. However, rattlesnakes rarely bite unless provoked or threatened; if treated promptly, the bites are seldom fatal.Rattlesnakes are native to the Americas, living in diverse habitats from southwestern Canada to central Argentina. The large majority of species live in the American Southwest and Mexico. Rattlesnakes consume mice, rats, small birds and other small animals.Like all pit vipers, rattlesnakes have two organs that can sense radiation: their eyes, and a set of heat-sensing "pits" on their faces that enable them to locate prey and move towards it, based on the prey's body heat. Rattlesnake fangs are connected by venom ducts to large venom glands near the outer edge of the upper jaw, towards the rear of the head. When the rattlesnake bites, muscles on the sides of the venom glands contract, which squeezes the venom through the ducts and into the fangs. An estimated 7,000 to 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the United States each year, with about five deaths.