For about 20 years, my job was to take groups of birdwatchers to various parts of the world to see new species. I led about 130 tours and often we ended up travelling through jungles and other areas which exposed us to some of the world’s most deadly snakes. The key to avoiding these snakes is obvious—but often overlooked by a birdwatcher intent on looking up in trees. Be alert where you are walking and don’t walk around in places you can’t see the ground. Bushmasters, Fer de Lances and other snakes in the tropics love to be in buttress roots where leaves collect. Don’t’ go into piles of leaves or be flipping over logs. In North America, generally rattlesnakes don’t attack you unless you have stepped on them or messed with them in some way. Be conscious where you are putting your hands and feet.
