Beautiful snake. And yes, hue can be due to locality (think color / camouflage).
Another one of my many regrets is that I did not venture out of Sonoma County
to capture other types of rattlesnakes. Guess I still could but I have too many
competing interests at the moment.
Yes. correct on who they typically kill. Further, there are more lies and misconceptions
about rattlesnakes than perhaps another creature on God's green earth . . . like they
are immune to their own bites, smaller ones (babies?) more venous than larger ones,
etc. All and more not true.
And some rattlesnakes are more 'venomous' than others if memory serves as are certain
species more aggressive (this is true).
All animals 'telegraph' there intent if you know what to look for . . . elephants by their ears,
a rattlesnake by their tongue, etc. . . . having been on the receiving end of those two and
others. I remember once in Yosemite NP (yes, in the park) coming across a rattlesnake
and I promptly showed my wife that I could tell her exactly when it was going to strike.
(When my wife was hiking the PCT, she came across one on the snow at a higher elevation.)
It is easy once you know what to look for. Like I said, all animals do this, as do human
beings.
Will post up shortly some very interesting rattlesnake fotos of a man in his younger days
you might recognize. It's a quiz