I agree. One often only remembers the "bad events" when encountering a deadly snake I am afraid. But when you look back at how many you have really run into (Deadly or non-deadly) you often hear a rustle, a glimpse of a tail fleeing into the brush and it's over. Like most animals that never, or rarely see a person they freak out and leave.

I have seen rattlesnakes become incredibly aggressive. I've only seen it in the desert on very hot days; the local wisdom is that when they get too hot they go crazy. I have seen a rattlesnake viciously pursuing and attacking an innocent pickup truck. Whether that's the reason I don't know, but I've never heard of something like that happening in more temperate regions.

You're too big to eat, so if you don't startle them they'll almost always choose to leave.

Thanks for sharing that, Unca_Walt. I'm glad he didn't get you!

leave them alone, just walk around them.