Although the days of pioneers, prospectors and outlaws are long gone, Arizona is still The Wild West, as a viral Facebook video by Scottsdale-based Realtor Laura Lucky quickly proved to nearly one million viewers.
On April 6, Lucky was driving two buyers through a north Scottsdale neighborhood to view a listing. On the way to the home, Lucky noticed a bobcat and a rattlesnake battling it out on the sidewalk. She quickly pulled out her phone and captured the encounter on video.
The rattlesnake bit the bobcat’s muzzle as it tried to writhe away, but the bobcat, unfazed, continued to claw at the snake until it won — after a few minutes, the bobcat bit the snake’s head and dragged its afternoon snack away.
“I was freaked out,” Lucky told Fox 10. “At least we were in a car. If we were out walking, I would not get as close and run away. The last thing I’d want to do is get between the two of them.”
After the fight was over, Lucky tried assuring the buyers, who were from Northern California, that this was a rare occurrence.
“I was telling my clients this was very abnormal. Don’t expect to see this,” said Lucky in the interview. “It was real fun to watch. Won’t ever see anything like that again.”
This isn’t the only video that has snaked its way into millions of social media feeds. In November 2017, a Phoenix-based Realtor who only identified himself as J.R. uploaded a video of a 30-inch diamondback rattlesnake slithering around on the welcome mat of a listing.
“… as I was leaving my open house, I open the front door to take something to my Jeep and this rattlesnake greets me!” read the intro of a YouTube video describing the encounter. “I ran back in to grab my phone and this is where the video starts.”
“Maybe that’s why I didn’t have any traffic today,” said J.R. as he backtracked toward the door.
J.R. tried shooing the snake away himself but eventually called animal control for some professional help.
According to Fox 10, it’s the beginning of rattlesnake season in Arizona, which doesn’t end until October.
Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center Director Keith Boesen provided some tips on how to deal with encounters with snakes and snakebites in an interview with UA News.
“Snakes don’t have any interest in attacking us,” Boesen said in the article. “They’re primarily defending themselves. As long as they don’t feel threatened, they typically won’t strike.”
If someone gets bit, Boesen said heading to the hospital to receive professional medical attention is of the essence since there’s no telling how someone will react to the bite. Also, he suggests avoiding any advice you may have seen on television.
“Anything you have seen in a movie or read in a book — such as sucking the venom from the wound or tying a tourniquet above the bite mark — is completely useless,” he said.
We’ve reached out to Lucky for comment and will update the story when she responds.