Few are the people living in Sedona who haven’t heard horror stories about someone bitten by a Mojave rattlesnake and coming close to dying from its highly toxic venom.

Few are the people living in Sedona who haven’t heard horror stories about someone bitten by a Mojave rattlesnake and coming close to dying from its highly toxic venom.
Belonging to the family of pit vipers, the snake delivers neurotoxins to its victim’s nervous system and hemotoxins to the bloodstream.
Described in the “National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States” as the “most venomous and possibly the most aggressive species in the Southwest,” Crotalus scutulus, as it’s identified in Latin, has a reputation of mythic proportions.
For Russell Dunn, a herpetologist living in the red rocks along with 57 of his sidewinding friends, that’s just what a Mojave is in this area — a myth.
“I’ve lived in Sedona since 1968, have handled more than 200 rattlesnakes and have yet to see a Mojave,” Dunn said. “I don’t believe they occur at this altitude; you start finding them when you drop off the high country — like around Black Canyon City and in Phoenix.”
Dunn is a member of the Arizona Herpetological Association and holds a Wildlife Service License from Arizona Game and Fish Department for the removal and relocation of wildlife that pops up unwanted in residential areas.
“I’ve removed skunks, bats, tarantulas, scorpions, black widows and pack rats,” Dunn said. “Never a Mojave.”
What Sedona does have, according to Dunn, are
Arizona Black Rattlers and Northern Black-Tailed Rattlers, Crotalus cerberus and Crotalus molossus, respectively.
“It’s the latter one that locals call the Green Rock Rattler or Green Mojave,” Dunn said. “Even though it is not.”
In fact, the only other type of rattler Dunn has ever collected in Sedona is a Western Diamondback, Crotalus atrox, which he believes may occasionally occur at the extreme limits of Sedona and more often at the lower altitudes of Cottonwood and Camp Verde.
“The mistaken identity matters so much because by tagging the Black-Tailed as a Mojave, you’ll have people killing a mild-mannered species whose first instinct is never to attack — always to crawl away,” he said. “They don’t want any part of us.”
Lee Luedeker, wildlife manager for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, agrees with Dunn.
“I’ve never seen a Mojave anywhere around Sedona, and their presence would be contrary to their preferred range and habitat,” Luedeker said. “In fact, I’ve never seen a Mojave anywhere outside of a zoo or care facility.”
As newly hired animal control officer for the Sedona Police Department, Chris Billington is studying all types of snakes.
“I’m learning as much as I can,” Billington said. “According to the book put out by Game and Fish, the Green is only found in isolated areas of Yavapai County below 3,000 feet of elevation.”
Billington noted that, although Mojaves are called and described as “Green,” it is usually more of a gold color, while the Black-Tailed has a greenish hue, making it even easier to confuse the two.
Aside from the vast difference in their behaviors — perhaps not something the average resident would want to study too closely — the Black-Tailed and the Mojave are hard to tell apart, being roughly the same size and length.
The one main difference is that the former, as might be expected, has a solid black tail above its rattles, while the latter has a clearly striped black and white section just above its rattles.
“That’s why the Mojaves are sometimes called a ‘coon tail’ snake,” Luedeker said.
While neither Dunn nor Luedeker ever wants to see a Black-Tail killed in the name of a Mojave, neither do they want any Mojaves harmed.
“If it weren’t for snakes, we’d all be up to our knees in rodents,” Dunn said.
In an effort to educate children on the benefits and habits of reptiles, Dunn and fellow snake handler Karen McClelland conducted courses every week during the Humane Society of Sedona’s summer camp.
For anyone suddenly encountering a snake of any type, simply standing still and allowing it to withdraw is the best course of action.
If one is found on a residential property and doesn’t go away of its own volition, people can call the main number of the police department, 282-3100 and ask for Billington.
Dunn is also available for removals and can be reached at 282-5544 and 355-2444.