California county records sixth person bitten by rattlesnake in under a month

A sixth person has been bitten by a rattlesnake in southern California’s Ventura County in just under a month, two-thirds of the number of people bitten in all of 2025.Andrew Dowd, a Ventura County fire department spokesperson, said paramedics responded to a call on Sunday for a man who had been bitten by a rattlesnake. The victim said he had been bitten near California State University Channel Islands.The victim was transported to a hospital with antivenom and was in stable condition on Sunday. In 2025, the county recorded nine rattlesnake bites.There have been two fatalities from rattlesnake bites in southern California this year. On 14 March, a 46-year-old woman died after she was bitten by a rattlesnake while hiking in Wildwood Regional Park. In Orange County, 25-year-old Julian Hernandez died after being bitten while biking near the Quail Hill Trailhead on 4 March.“We have seen a warmer spring than in past years, we had heavy rains this winter, and so this is a time when snakes are typically out anyway and people are out on the trails, enjoying the outdoors,” said Dowd.California recorded an unseasonably warm streak of 80F and 90F days in March, that may have also pushed snakes out to the trails earlier, and heavy rains in January and February that increased the number of small rodents they typically eat.Statewide, the California Poison Control System is reporting an uptick in calls related to rattlesnake bites. In the first three months of 2026, the system reported 77 rattlesnake bite calls, reports the Los Angeles Times. Typically, the system receives 200-300 calls each year related to rattlesnakes, the only venomous snake native to California, peaking from April to October.Jeffrey Suchard, an emergency physician and medical toxicologist at UCI Health, says “death by rattlesnake bite is extremely rare”.Each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention records between 7,000 and 8,000 bites in the US, with only about five fatalities.The higher than usual number of rattlesnake bites in southern California “underscores the importance of being safe and following some very basic safety tips when we’re outside enjoying the outdoors here”, said Dowd.He recommends hikers stay on clearly marked trails, avoid areas of tall grass and brush, wear hiking boots and long pants and carry a fully charged cellphone and spare battery to be able to call 911.“If somebody happens to be bitten by a snake,” it’s important to “try to remain calm and limit your movement” to slow the spread of venom and call 911 immediately, he said.