There's no such thing as too high for rattlesnakes, at least not in South Dakota.

The idea that rattlesnakes won't go above a certain elevation in the Black Hills is a myth, Reptile Gardens curator Terry Phillips said.

"They could be all the way up to the top of Harney Peak," he said. "The Prairie rattlesnake has been found at elevations up to 11,000 feet."

So people in the Hills should be careful about where they sit, reach or step, just as they should take care down on the plains, Phillips said. That's especially true around rocky or wooded areas that provide cover and shade, particularly on hot, sunny days, he said.

"A lot of it's just common sense. We learn at an early age to look both ways when we cross the street and not talk to strangers," Phillips said. "In western South Dakota, look before you sit, look where you step, watch where you put your hands and when nature calls, watch where you do your business."

A snake bite last month in Custer State Park was unusual, as are most snake bites, Phillips said. Rattlesnakes are all around us but are usually able to avoid human contact. Jake Niedringhaus, a 13-year-old Sioux Falls boy, appears to have been a "legitimate" snake bite, by Phillips' standards.

The "legitimate" bites are those that happen by accident, as in Niedringhaus's case. He was on a family hike and accidentally stepped on a rattler. More often, snake-bite victims - who are most often young men - are teasing rattlers or trying to handle them when they are bitten, Phillips said.

"A legitimate bite is when you didn't know the snake was there and got bit," he said. "If you know the snake is there and get bit, it's always your fault."

Jake Niedringhaus is the first snake-bite victim that 30-year park employee Craig Pugsley can recall in the 71,000-acre park. Rattlesnakes that turn up in public use areas in the park, such as the Center Lake Campground, are relocated to more isolated park land, Pugsley said.

And parks visitors are always advised, personally and in park materials, to remember that there are venomous snakes in the park.

"In any outdoor activity, use caution and be aware of your surroundings," he said.

Tom Farrell, a spokesman for Wind Cave National Park, said the park has a rattlesnake-relocation policy similar to the one in Custer State Park.

"They are relocated to the nearest prairie dog town," he said.

Last year, park employee Ankur Desai was bitten by a rattlesnake while working in one of the remote parts of the park, Farrell said.

"Due to the remote location in the park where he was bitten, and the symptoms he was presenting to EMS personnel on the scene, he was LifeFlighted to Rapid City Regional Hospital," Farrell said. "He was released from the hospital two days later."

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com