LUNCH TIME!

Aruba Island Rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus unicolor); perhaps the rareist rattlesnake on Earth.  This species is rare because it only exists naturally on the small island of Aruba, where just 25 square kilometers of habitat remains undisturbed.
~
"The Aruba rattlesnake is a highly venomous pitviper that only lives on the island of Aruba, off the coast of Venezuela. This small rattlesnake feeds on various small animals, from rodents to lizards and birds. It is critically endangered, and the subject of conservation efforts to save the species."  Wiki
~
No, I didn't travel to Aruba to shoot this snake. This one lives in the zoo in Milwaukee, where, fortunately, the white rat population is stable so there's always lunch......about once a week, that is.  Being poikilothermic (cold blooded) creatures, they don't waste a lot of energy just generating heat so lunch lasts a while before they get hungry again.
~
Best viewed in Large