Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake

The eastern diamondback is North America's largest rattlesnake and among the heaviest venomous snakes in the world. Its rattle is a warning, not aggression, and it freezes rather than flees, relying on diamond-backed camouflage. Longleaf pine habitat has shrunk by over 95 percent, so this snake is declining across much of its range, and the gopher tortoise burrows it shelters in are themselves threatened.