A must have device for influencers, useful for working from home, and popular in home security, webcams came into our lives in the 1990s.
Now, however, the familiar piece of tech is being used for a unique purpose: to live stream rattlesnakes.
Project RattleCam is a collaboration between scientists from Cal Poly, Central Coast Snake Services, and Dickinson College.
The organizations have teamed up with a shared mission to study and raise awareness about rattlesnakes, their behavior, and their importance in the ecosystems.
A recent study showed that trail cameras for conservation purposes are missing in the areas that need them the most. The data from camera trap projects can provide vital data in the fight to save many species from extinction, and protect their ecosystems.
A nightmare for some, the “mega den” with over 2,000 rattlesnakes has been live streaming since May, from a remote site on private land in northern California, on a rocky hillside where the rhumba of rattlesnakes can keep warm and hide from predators.
The exact location is kept secret to discourage those who both love and hate the animals from harassing the animals.
The webcam is the perfect tool, enabling the scientists to observe the snakes' behavior without interfering. Interested people watching the snakes online can let the scientists know if there’s any drama.
And sometimes, there’s drama.
The snakes are under constant threat from red-tailed kites circling above, and magpies, who have taken baby snakes as a snack.
Exciting times are ahead as well, as more babies will be born in August. Baby rattlesnakes are called ‘pups’ and unlike almost all reptiles, they’re born alive rather than hatched from eggs. Rattlesnakes also make good parents, as the mothers protect their young from predators, and will also babysit other snakes' babies.
“This is a big, big den for rattlesnakes. This is one of the biggest ones we know of,” Emily Taylor, a California Polytechnic State University biology professor leading the Project RattleCam research, said Tuesday.
“Rattlesnakes get a bum rap as creepy and threatening. But the webcam shows they’re social animals that don’t go out of their way to be aggressive, Taylor pointed out.”
Check out the guides to the best webcams for working from home, and the best trail cameras.
