#im referencing actual articles btw. crying and weeping they're so good

[ruthlesslistener]

Hey hey hey. Do you wanna know a fact that makes me cry. Okay so timber rattlesnakes will guard their babies for a week after birth, but new research has shown that parental care still continues after the fact:

Babies under a year old will follow their mom's scent trail to the overwintering dens that the family uses, and will often den with their moms, siblings, and pregnant female relatives to survive the winter. They will almost always follow their mom's scent, but they will also sometimes follow the scent of another female closely related to them. It's not known if the female is deliberately laying down the scent trail, but its highly likely that she is. They also seem to recognize their littermates and will vastly prefer to congregate with them over non-kin individuals

Not only that, many rattlesnakes will also return to the same birthing dens and overwintering dens year after year, or will use sites close by if the original is no longer accessable. Moms guarding their babies also often be far more defensive than they normally are outside of breeding season, and will sometimes intercept their babies if they're moving towards danger, nudging them to the safety of their dens. There's also been many instances of rattlesnakes giving birth next to other rattlesnakes or pit vipers and raising their young peacefully in a communal 'nursery den', though studies into this behavior don't seem to have been done.

They have families, y'all

#snakes #rattlesnakes #timber rattlesnakes #gonna go cry over this now and forever #rattlesnake families.... #im referencing actual articles btw. crying and weeping they're so good