Warm and cuddly are adjectives that seldom spring to mind when one thinks of rattlesnakes.
But a new study from Loma Linda University near San Bernardino, California, may change that by showing that the venomous rattler appears to take comfort in being close to its own kind, much like people.
The research showed that the snakes seem to gain a sense of well-being when they wriggle into sort of a group hug with other rattlers, according to the study published this week the journal Frontiers in Ethology. The findings challenge the notion that reptiles are solitary hunters that display little in the way of complex social behaviour.
