I read the article “Hundreds heard snake island plan” and was shocked by how negative the response was. The snakes will be put on a large island in a lake that can be seen from space.
You are not allowed to swim in the Quabbin, and even if you did get onto the island, it is highly unlikely you would be bitten, as there are only going to be two snakes put onto the island per year.
Also, if rattlesnakes feel threatened, they make a distinct rattle sound, hence the name, and give plenty of warning that they will bite.
The timber rattlesnakes need a place to live. There are only about 200 left in Massachusetts, and they will almost certainly go extinct if something doesn’t change.
Think of it this way: if there were only 200 humans left in Massachusetts and bears were afraid to put two 8-year-olds onto an island because they were afraid that they would swim off the island and shoot them. It doesn’t make sense.
Also, it is unlikely that the snakes would go to the mainland because they like to stay near the place of their birth. Besides, even if they did make it out of the reservoir, no one has been bitten by a timber rattlesnake in Massachusetts in 50 years, and it will most likely stay that way.
SYLVIE HOPE
Amherst
The writer is a sixth-grader at Fort River Elementary School.