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Is A 'Rattlesnake Island' In The Quabbin Reservoir A Good Idea?

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A timber rattlesnake slithers across a flat rock in western Massachusetts in this photograph from 2008. (Bill Byrne/The Mass. Division of Fisheries and Wildlife via AP)
A timber rattlesnake slithers across a flat rock in western Massachusetts in this photograph from 2008. (Bill Byrne/The Mass. Division of Fisheries and Wildlife via AP)

There's a state preservation plan to create a rattlesnake colony on an off-limits island in the Quabbin Reservoir. And some residents who live near the Quabbin are rattled by the idea.

"It's inevitable that somebody is going to bitten by a snake, and that's going to be the end of my use of the watershed, they'll close it down," said Mike Krunklevich at a public meeting in Orange.

Guests

Jeff Corwin, wildlife biologist and host of ABC's "Ocean Mysteries." He tweets @iamjeffcorwin.

David Boeri, WBUR senior reporter. He tweets @davidboeri.

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WBUR: Rattlesnake Island: Mass. Officials Want To Create Protected Habitat For Snakes

  • "You’d have to try really hard to get bitten by a rattlesnake in Massachusetts. 'We’re talking such low probabilities, it’s like getting struck by lightning while holding an ice cream cone in both hands,' said Tom French, assistant director of the state’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife."

This segment aired on February 24, 2016.

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