United States | Snake, rattle and roil

The fun and the fury of a rattlesnake derby

A rite—or, to critics, a wrong—of spring in Oklahoma

HXR9YW A western diamondback rattler prepares to strike in the snake holding pit during the 51st Annual Sweetwater Texas Rattlesnake Round-Up March 14, 2009 in Sweetwater, Texas. During the three-day event approximately 240,000 pounds of rattlesnake will be collected, milked and served to support charity.
|Mangum, Oklahoma

Shayne Naylor has some advice for people who want to hunt rattlesnakes: “Be vigilant” and watch “where you’re putting your hands and feet.” Every spring he leads people into the countryside of Oklahoma to seek out snakes. Wielding tongs, hooks and a bucket for stashing their catch, a few dozen hunters look under rocks and into crevices to track down their prey.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Snake, rattle and roil”

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