Did you know there are rattlesnakes in Indiana?  It's true!

Get our free mobile app

Venomous Hoosier Snakes

I decide to head over to check out the Indiana Department of Natural Resources website to see what kind of venomous snakes we have in the Hoosier state, and it turns out we have a few different types. Here's what they have listed on Indiana DNR's website:

1. Copperhead - Only found in southern half of the state.
2. Cottonmouth - State Endangered - Only found in one small area in southwestern Indiana.
3. Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake - Federally Threatened - Northern third of Indiana.
4. Timber Rattlesnake - State Endangered - South central Indiana.

Timber Rattlesnake in Brown County

Recently a video on Facebook was shared over a thousand times of a park ranger at Brown County State Park wrangling a Timber Rattlesnake.  According to Indiana DNR the Timber Rattlesnake is considered state-endangered which means:

Any animal species whose prospects for survival or recruitment within the state are in immediate jeopardy and are in danger of disappearing from the state. This includes all species listed as endangered or threatened by the federal government that occur in Indiana.

In the state of Indiana, you actually cannot kill, harm, or take any snake from the wild without a permit, and it's illegal to kill Timber Rattlesnakes in Indiana. You can read more about Indiana rattlesnakes, and what happens if you illegally kill them, here.

The park ranger has a little bit of trouble but eventually gets the snake safely into a bucket.  Check out the video below,  but in case the video doesn't show up, you can see the video on Facebook, here.