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Rattlesnakes are feared by many people who live in the chaparral. Their bites can be deadly and almost always result in a person or a pet being sent to the hospital. If rattlesnakes were no longer around, parents would be happy not having to worry about their children getting bit and potentially killed. Nature, however would suffer the consequences.
Rattlesnakes are a source of food for other animals in the chaparral. Coyotes, the Greater Roadrunner and the Red Tail Hawk are a few examples of the rattlesnake's predators. If these predators loose a food source, their populations may decline due to lack of food.
Kangaroo rats, California Ground Squirrels and other rodents would thrive in the short term, because a major predator would be eliminated. Their populations would increase, because the rattlers would no longer be around to eat them. The problem is that eventually the populations would get so large and would consume their own food supply. When the food is gone many rodents would die off due to starvation. Rattlesnakes are important in keeping populations from getting too large.
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