HELENA \u2014 As we slither into warmer temperatures this summer and enjoy Montana\u2019s great outdoors, it is important to be aware of the dangers on and off the trails.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are problems with snakes sometimes,\u201d Mike Bauernfeind, a former Helena resident, said.<\/p>\n
Bauernfeind is no stranger to rattlesnakes\u2014he used to spray weeds for the county and often ran into the venomous threat.<\/p>\n
He practices the same caution on the trails as he did in his job.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really had to be careful and keep your eyes peeled,\u201d Bauernfeind said.<\/p>\n
During a rattlesnake encounter, it is important to stay calm and maintain a safe distance with no sudden movements.<\/p>\n
Also, wear sturdy footwear and long pants. If you do run into a snake, try to avoid provoking it and keep your pets leashed.<\/p>\n
Most times, these encounters are avoidable by staying on the trail.<\/p>\n
It is not just yourself you need to worry about, keep your pet’s safety in mind too. <\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially with a pet because he is not afraid of snakes and bees and stuff like that, so really have to watch out for him as well,\u201d Bauernfeind said about his dog, Biscuit.<\/p>\n
Izabella Stanger also hits the trails around Helena with her dog Gypsy and works as a team to stay safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust paying close attention,” Stanger said. “I feel like dogs kind of know too if there is wildlife, so just staying back and letting them be.\u201d<\/p>\n
With rattlesnake sightings and warnings going up on trails in the area, awareness is key.<\/p>\n
“We just have to exercise caution and be careful where we walk initially and the whole time,\u201d Bauernfeind said.<\/p>\n
Always alert others if you have seen a rattlesnake in the area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HELENA \u2014 As we slither into warmer temperatures this summer and enjoy Montana\u2019s great outdoors, it is important…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5151,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[1068,5661,2785,79,5662,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-5150","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-pets","9":"tag-rattlesnake","10":"tag-safety","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-trails","13":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}