Drought drives snakes down from hills

LOS ANGELES, June 16 (UPI) -- Homeowners in drought-stricken Southern California are finding unusual numbers of rattlesnakes hiding in their shrubbery or slithering across the yard.

In Los Angeles, the small rodents and other animals that form the bulk of the rattlesnake diet are leaving the hills for well-watered suburban areas. The snakes are following them, The New York Times reports.

That means booming business for snake wranglers, people who offer to remove inconvenient snakes for a fee. Jason McElroy, owner of Southern California Snake Removal, reports he is getting an average of nine calls a day, up from two in wetter weather.

McElroy and other snake wranglers like snakes and believe they are doing them a good turn by removing them from a setting where they are likely to encounter lethal force.

"We remove them, release them and give them another chance to go on with their lives," he told the Times.