The question most commonly asked when people find out I look for Rattlesnakes is "Couldn't they kill you?"  The answer is yes they can, but they don't.  A Timber Rattlesnake's first line of defense is to hide like the individual above.  By sitting perfectly still a Rattlesnake usually goes unnoticed.  If the snake feels like it has been spotted and is in danger it will run away.  It will either go under a nearby stone, into the brush, or some other out of the way place.  A Timber Rattlesnake's third defensive tactic is to coil and vibrate its tail vigorously.  Hopefully this display is enough to keep its attacker at bay.  Only after all these tactics have failed will it resort to biting.  As anyone can clearly see you really have to be taunting the snake in order to get bit.  Up to forty percent of bites are what is known as a dry bite.  That is, there is no venom injected.  Another forty percent of bites are light, with a minimum amount of venom injected.  Some pain and swelling occurs, and injuries are seldom life threatening.  The remainder are more serious bites, and these may be painful and require hospitalization.  Even then deaths are rare.  Usually the complications due to alcohol are more life threatening (a significant percentage of snakebite victims are drunk when bitten.)  Legitimate, unprovoked attacks are so rare to be considered nearly nonexistent.
    Having said that I do not mean to make light that these are potentially dangerous wild animals and need to be treated with respect.  They are rapidly losing habitat and are being subjected to persecution from both snake hunters and the public that come across them in their travels.  There was a time when the Rattlesnake was on par with the Eagle for our national emblem.  It signified America then, giving fair warning before striking, but then attacking like they meant it.  That's certainly still true today.