A reptile rescue director in Northern California got a big surprise earlier this month as he pulled 92 Northern Pacific rattlesnakes from underneath a home in Santa Rosa. Al Wolf responded on Oct. 2 to a resident’s call about a rattlesnake den beneath her home in the Mayacamas Mountains, which is located in the northeast section of Santa Rosa.
Wolf is the director of Sonoma County Reptile Rescue. He has been rescuing snakes and other reptiles for over 32 years now. He used 24-inch snake tongs to extract 22 adults and 59 infants from beneath the residence, which is located in northern Santa Rosa on the Mayacamas Mountains, according to the newspaper.
“Within a minute I find a rattlesnake. OK, great,” Wolf says. “I get it into the bucket and then I see a second rattlesnake. So I get that and put it into the bucket. Then I move another rock and I find the third rattlesnake. Then I see two babies.” “I was tickled pink,” Wolf informs the newspaper. “It’s what I like to do, and I generally get a call and find one, maybe two rattlesnakes. But when you start finding stuff like this, I think, ‘Oh good, this is a really worthwhile call.’”
Photos of the snakes were shared via Facebook. Northern Pacific rattlesnakes are venomous and mostly found in areas north of Fresno in California, Wolf tells the Chronicle. Wolf describes most of the snakes he caught as “pretty gentle in nature,” but grasping them was like petting a dog. Wolf says he releases snakes at more than 35 snake den sites across northern Sonoma County, the Chronicle reports.
