Movements of the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) in the South Carolina mountains

Abstract

Although the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) is the most common rattlesnake in the eastern United
States, populations have declined and only scattered metapopulations remain in what was once a large
and extensive North American range. Whereas some C. horridus populations in forest communities of
the northeastern and western US have been studied, information on those occurring along the southern
part of its range is virtually non-existent. In South Carolina there has been relatively little research done
on this species and there has been no formal study on C. horridus in the mountainous regions of the
state. From 2006 to 2009, I radio-tracked several C. horridus in Table Rock State Park, South Carolina
and documented their movement patterns. For the duration of the study, males moved a mean annual
distance (± SE) of 3,047 ± 488 m, non-gravid females moved a mean (± SE) of 1,688 ± 517 m, and gravid
females moved a mean (± SE) of 2,248 ± 597 m. Although mean distances moved were not statistically
significant among groups in this study, mean distances travelled for all sexes were much shorter than
observed in other populations. I hypothesize that forest management involving natural regeneration and
fire suppression, and prey availability may influence C. horridus movements in Table Rock State Park.