Why I Dodge Speeding Cars to Rescue Rattlesnakes

These elegant creatures aren’t the murderous monsters you’ve seen in the movies. If I don’t save them, who will?

Illustration by Tim Peacock

It’s midnight. The Milky Way sprawls above us, a king’s ransom in diamonds scattered over black velvet. A gust of wind kicks up a cloud of sage-scented dust. We’re standing in the middle of a rural highway, face to face with two rattlesnakes, and we’re not going to make it home anytime soon.

My partner, Adrian, and I curse in unison at a pair of rapidly approaching headlights. “You got this one?” Adrian says, shoving a stray strand of her long blonde hair out of her face.

“Yep,” I say, already heading for the rattlesnake closest to me. She runs for the other one.

“It’s all good, big boy,” I say to the rattlesnake, “I got ya.”