Good vs. Evil...

Reader Linda I. sent in this photo of a 3 foot long King snake that's just about finished with his lunch: a smaller rattlesnake. The only part of the rattlesnake that's still visible is the rattles, and I'm sure those didn't last long!

Many people have such a fear of rattlesnakes that they tend to brand all snakes as vermin. The reality is that we have more good snakes (King snakes and gopher snakes, especially) than bad snakes (if you subscribe to the notion that rattlesnakes are bad). Rattlesnakes are especially good at controlling the populations of small rodents, so they're not entirely evil themselves – but if your pets or small children have the run of your yard, you might find it hard to think of rattlesnakes as anything other than a mortal enemy...