And don't forget Florida panthers, one of which ran across the road in front of us near Basmati's in Blue Mountain one dark night.
In the past, Walton County would have what was called a Rattlesnake Rodeo. People would catch hundreds of rattlers and the live specimens would be piled up into an elevated cage. They milked the snakes for anti-venom, later used them for rattlesnake meat and for their skins. I unknowingly ate some rattlesnake meat at a chili cookoff in Southern CA. Who knows what anything tastes like when submerged in all those ingredients? But I remember all those snakes rattling and striking and coiling up together in the pens, because they gave me nightmares as a child. I also remember seeing hundreds of snakeskins hanging on a clothesline. The Rodeo had food booths where they offered rattlesnake cooked in all kinds of ways. Yuck.
In the past, Walton County would have what was called a Rattlesnake Rodeo. People would catch hundreds of rattlers and the live specimens would be piled up into an elevated cage. They milked the snakes for anti-venom, later used them for rattlesnake meat and for their skins. I unknowingly ate some rattlesnake meat at a chili cookoff in Southern CA. Who knows what anything tastes like when submerged in all those ingredients? But I remember all those snakes rattling and striking and coiling up together in the pens, because they gave me nightmares as a child. I also remember seeing hundreds of snakeskins hanging on a clothesline. The Rodeo had food booths where they offered rattlesnake cooked in all kinds of ways. Yuck.