The year is 2024 in Sweetwater Jaycees, Texas. A young girl in a straw cowgirl hat holds a long snake in her tiny hands, determination etching the lines of her face. Her frown is one mixed with concentration. Surrounding her are family and friends laughing, eating barbecue and enjoying the weather.
After straining her arms a bit wider, she gives one final, triumphant pull and rips it in half — skinning the snake following decapitation. National Geographic photographer Javier Aznar González de Rueda captured the scene as the girl earned a pat on the back from her dad.
The World’s Largest Rattlesnake Roundup occurs annually in Sweetwater Jaycees the second week of March. It brings together families, friends and neighbors to hunt down all the rattlesnakes they can find.
Some say it’s a spectacle of southern and Texas culture. Conservationists call it a barbaric, unethical practice.
“As a hunter and outdoorsman, I assure you there is no special glory in rattlesnake hunting, it’s not difficult,” Texas A&M professor and co-director in the department of ecology and conservation biology Lee Fitzgerald, Ph.D., said in a 2006 letter to The Eagle. “At the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, rattlesnakes are decapitated and skinned alive in the ‘Skinning Pit’ as a form of public entertainment and there is no limit on how many can be killed. The spectacle is anything but charming.”
In American culture, snakes are something to be afraid of. Associate professor of global languages and Chinese culture Jun Lei, Ph.D., said she often hears Aggie students refer to people they dislike as “snakes,” or manipulative and untrustworthy.
In Chinese culture, snakes are instead associated with wisdom, intelligence, regenerative power and transformation.
“The snake shows a subtle power,” Lei said. “It uses that power to achieve goals through careful observation and strategic patience, rather than brutal force. A common Chinese saying goes 龟蛇千年寿 (Guī shé qiān nián shòu), which poetically expresses the belief that turtles and snakes can live for a thousand years, symbolizing longevity and endurance.”
Chinese students at A&M are still celebrating Lunar New Year — also known as Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam, Seollal in Korea and more — which began Jan. 29. It’s a celebration of the arriving spring and new year based on the lunisolar calendar. 2025 marks the sixth animal in the 12-year zodiac cycle: the Year of the Snake.
In her research, Lei studies the White Snake Legends, some of the most beloved snake narratives in Chinese literature. She says that throughout the Chinese dynasties, the White Snake (Bai Suzhen) is transformed from a symbol of evil to one of benevolence — a transition she hopes to see happen in American culture through proper education of snakes and their true nature.
“At its core, the legend explores the tensions between different realms of existence while celebrating the transformative power of love and devotion,” Lei said. “Unlike ordinary snake imagery, white snakes in Chinese folklore are particularly auspicious, often seen as embodiments of divine or ancestral presence. In some religions, the appearance of a white snake is considered a blessing that foretells exceptional good fortune.”
Fitzgerald said snakes are misunderstood and the fear surrounding them stems from common misconceptions and bad personal experiences.
“Everybody has a snake story,” Fitzgerald said. “The number one misconception about snakes is that many species are venomous, but they’re usually harmless.”
Most snakes, like the infamous western diamondback rattlesnake, will rarely attack unless they feel threatened. In general, they are quite secretive and solitary creatures. “Rattlesnakes will also very rarely attack you, but when approached or hassled, they are always on the defensive and may feel threatened,” Fitzgerald said.
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas is home to over 115 native snake species, but only 15 are truly venomous.
“These endangered species of snakes are part of our wildlife,” Fitzgerald said. “They play important roles in the ecosystem as predators. They just look a little different. They just look a little scary. I think that’s why people judge them.”
Fitzgerald is also the faculty curator of amphibians and reptiles at the Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections at A&M. The collections have gathered over 2.3 million specimens since the 1930s, primarily to document the history of the United States and South America.
Researchers like Fitzgerald and assistant professor Tony Hibbits, Ph.D., use the Collections to create conservation plans. Right now, the duo is working to restore the endangered Louisiana Pine Snake, which was once native to Texas. Longleaf pine forests, their native habitat, are now rare in Texas due to logging and urbanization.
“These endangered species send us a strong signal on how we’re caring for Texas,” Fitzgerald said. “At the Collections, we can track how biodiversity is changing, what we’re losing and how it’s moving around across the face of the Earth. And we can also use samples we keep in the frozen tissue collection for genetic analysis, which helps us know more about the DNA signature of species. These practices, in turn, help with management strategies.”
Just last year, the Fort Worth Zoo released 75 Louisiana Pine Snakes into managed habitats within the Kisatchie National Forest after breeding them back to stable levels in captivity.
It’s events like the annual Texas Rattlesnake Roundup that perpetuate the stereotypes of snakes and harm the ecosystems those species provide benefits to. “I strongly object to uncontrolled commercialization of wildlife,” Fitzgerald said.
Assistant professor of global languages and cultures Meg Perret, Ph.D., said animals in most cultures usually become status symbols to be revered, like how eagles in the United States are protected because of their patriotic affiliation.
“People think of problems with the environment as being scientific, but they’re actually also cultural and social issues,” Perret said. “Decisions around biodiversity conservation involve using social goals and cultural values which depend on the communities that people are from and their worldviews on the relationship between humans and the environment. Practices surrounding biodiversity conservation may change if they’re guided by different values and norms.”
By looking at snakes through different cultural lenses, there may be a way to promote conservation for endangered Texas snake species.
Fitzgerald said events like the Rattlesnake Roundup could be used as an educational tool instead of a harmful one by informing people about snake misconceptions and laying the groundwork for how important they are for Texas ecosystems.
Educational activities such as workshops and seminars from experts are offered in order to boost awareness. This group of experts is made of herpetologists who provide enriching presentations to the attendees. These demonstrations allow the audience to obtain a better grasp on the knowledge of the snakes’ behavior and biology. Advice on how to safely recover from snake bites and coexist with these creatures is also offered.
“It’s possible to transform traditional rattlesnake roundups into community activities that raise funds for charity and create a positive educational experience, including a snake show,” Fitzgerald said in a 2006 letter to The Eagle. “An enlightened community in Florida changed its roundup to a Rattlesnake Festival — they recognized the harmful effects of gassing and over-collecting rattlesnakes in their part of the country, so why can’t Texas?”
