LANCASTER, Pa. — What started as an ordinary bike ride through the woods resulted in Jesse Rothacker being bitten more than fifty times by a wild snake!
Luckily for Rothacker the snake wasn’t venomous and was identified as a milk snake, a species common to Pennsylvania. Rothacker posted his experience on his YouTube channel.
“You can see in the video I’m laughing a lot every time he bites me because I know he’s not trying to hurt me! The way that milk snakes explore is with their mouth, and so [they] don’t have a powerful defensive bite, they just will slowly grab on to everything that they’re curious about,” said Jesse Rothacker, director, and founder of Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary based in Lancaster County.
Rothacker’s YouTube video is just one of dozens that show his work with wildlife in Pennsylvania, specifically with snakes and other reptiles. His organization also rescues surrendered reptiles and helps them find new homes.
“We want them to do something like enjoy the snake, appreciate the snake from a safe distance, and that’s less likely to end up with a bite,” Rothacker said.
His recent YouTube video is a demonstration of what not to do when encountering a snake in the wild. But when he’s not being bitten for the camera, Rothacker travels across the Commonwealth to educate others about how to treat nature with respect.
“We started doing outreach in 2004 when we started forgotten friend, and now we get to do hundreds of shows every single year,” Rothacker said.
On Tuesday, June 13, Rothacker visited Duckling Early Learning Center in East Hempfield Township, York County. Several reptiles accompanied Rothacker, including an iguana, tortoises, and several species of snakes. The purpose of which was to demonstrate the likelihood of encountering one of the animals in the wild during the summer season.
“The best tool you have when you meet a snake is the cellphone in your pocket, pull the rectangle out of your pants and take a picture of the snake from a safe distance, five or ten feet away,” Rothacker explained.
Pictures can be sent to Rothacker or other reptile experts who can identify the snake and determine its level of danger.
June also marks the beginning of Venomous Snake Hunting season in Pennsylvania.
Licensed hunters can hunt specific species of snake from the second Saturday of June until July 31.
Rattlesnakes and copperheads are the most common snakes hunted during this period; however, they must be male and meet certain size and weight requirements in order to be used for their meat and other material.
Rothacker also recommended hunters express caution when eating their meat due to the poison the snakes carry.