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  • Ryan Cook and the 68 inch rattler. Photo courtesy of Gulf Coast Wildlife Removal.
  • Photo courtesy of Gulf Coast Wildlife Removal
  • Photo courtesy of Gulf Coast Wildlife Removal
  • Photo courtesy of Gulf Coast Wildlife Removal
  • Photo courtesy of Gulf Coast Wildlife Removal
  • Photo courtesy of Gulf Coast Wildlife Removal
  • Photo courtesy of Gulf Coast Wildlife Removal
  • Photo courtesy of Gulf Coast Wildlife Removal
NEW ORLEANS – Animal wranglers pulled a five and a half foot rattlesnake from beneath a deck in New Orleans East yesterday afternoon. The 68-inch Canebrake Rattlesnake was spotted behind a home near Michoud Boulevard and Chef Menteur Highway on August 16 after a rainstorm, according to Hannah Lawing of Gulf Coast Wildlife Removal. The Canebrake Rattlesnake is one of only a few rattlesnake species native to Louisiana, and this one was a particularly large specimen. The snake, which had to be killed due to its aggressive nature and venomous bite, had 13 rattles on its tail. The number of rattles, Lawing said, indicates the number of times the snake has shed its skin. “So needless to say, this snake was old,” she said. It was also the first rattlesnake that Gulf Coast Wildlife Removal owner Ryan Cook had ever had to deal with in Louisiana.