Rattlesnakes are waking up in the foothills. Here’s what to do (and not do) if you get bit

A wet winter coupled with unprecedented wildfires experienced throughout California early this year and late last year have produced the potential for unusual rattlesnake activity this spring, experts at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo say.

Zoo staff joined with representativs from the California Poison Control System run by UC San Francisco to to share that warning and give tips about dealing with rattlesnakes – including bites – at an event Friday.

Rattlesnakes usually avoid humans, but about 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the U.S. each year, with 10 to 15 deaths, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Even newborn rattlesnakes possess dangerous venom.

For more, check out the USDA’s guidelines for rattlesnake safety.

This story was originally published March 22, 2019 at 4:16 PM.