Spatial Analysis of Attitudes Toward Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Horridus) Where Encounters Occur Within an Exurban Landscape

Abstract

Most human-wildlife conflict research has focused on large species, with less attention to smaller, less-charismatic species. Our objective was to evaluate landscape-level spatial relationships among human-timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) encounters, attitudes toward timber rattlesnakes, and exurban residential context. Encounters and attitudes data were collected using a mail survey and encounter reports (n = 583). Residential context variables focused on land cover and parcel characteristics. Encounters and similar attitudes toward timber rattlesnakes were spatially clustered on the landscape, and residential context attributes influenced both. Some overlap existed between favorable attitudes related to coexistence with timber rattlesnakes and relatively low concern about the species, whereas encounter-similar attitude clusters were distinct with less overlap. An outreach approach with prescribed messaging strategies based on the localized frequency of encounters, relative attitudes, and land cover may facilitate ability to address resident concerns in an individualized way.