rattlesnake

For Putman, who used to study rattlesnakes, fence lizards are a model for how animals handle rapidly changing environments.

Rangers describe the trail — a steep half-mile to reach the cave, then a half-mile loop inside — as “strenuous,” featuring possible encounters with poison oak, bees, rattlesnakes and falling rocks.

A majority no longer have a standard of decency for a presidential candidate — or if they do, it’s lower than a rattlesnake.

I waited with several other hikers before progressing, only to be stopped at the next switchback by an angry rattlesnake, mid-trail, tail in the air.

With golden eyes, velvet voice and smooth gait, Pierre is like a puma prowling across the screen, but ultimately his character’s temperament is much more like a rattlesnake — coiled and ready to strike when threatened.