Stake! Stake! Stake! The very word incites fear into the heart of many of us.

Stake! And no wonder, according to the World Health Organization's figures for 2019,

about 5.4 million people are bitten each year, and up to 138,000 people die each year from snake bites.

There's also up to 2.7 million cases of envenoming, in which people have actually been injected with venom from snakes and have survived the ordeal.

Needless to say, filmmakers have loved playing on our fears with their terrifying snake horror movies.

Meanies. But this sense of horror was the exact feeling I had to overcome when I went in search of the prairie rattlesnake.

As their name suggests, the snakes are found in drier areas with vegetation. Their range extends from southwestern Canada through the western United States and down into northern Mexico.

These are venomous pit-vipers, so called because they have a heat-sensing pit between the eye and nostril on both sides of their head.

And whilst not generally aggressive, they can defend themselves vigorously and have the ability to deliver a dose of venom that is illegal to us humans.

With all that in mind, I did wonder if tracking one was simply asking for trouble. Well, you'll be pleased to hear I wasn't going it alone.

My guide was Snake Expert, Steve Makasey, professor of biological sciences at the University of North Colorado, who assured me that equipped with a pair of snakegators, which are covering to protect the legs, and a trusty snake hook, we should be okay.

The vast prairie lands of Colorado made for the perfect location.

We headed to a site where Steve knew prairie rattlesnakes liked to congregate. A large metal storm drain that ran underneath a raised railroad was an ideal spot for snakes seeking shelter.

As a heat of the morning sun beat down than the metal tracks, slowly but surely warming them up.

As a freight train rumbled past a flush of adrenaline ran through my body, it felt like we were in a real-life scene from the American drama series Breaking Bad, wandering the desert-like landscape conducting mad science experiments.

Amid all the excitement, great care had to be taken. Rattlesnakes are master ambushes, and they've evolved the perfect strategy with which to capture their prey.

Searching for well-worn animal trails usually works best for them. Here, they lie and wait for their prey, which include any number of rodents from prairie dogs to gophers, as well as birds, lizards, and other small mammals like squirrels and rabbits.

Curled up into a tight S-formation, it's their ability to detect heat which tips them off.

Using the pit organ on their faces, the rattlesnakes can pick up infrared radiation in the form of heat from the body of a potential meal.

With this serpentine super sense, prey essentially glow like a beacon in the night.

Once close enough, a rattlesnake will unleash its lightning strike, momentarily sinking its fangs into its prey, pumping it with venom, only to let go just as quickly.

This strike and release tactic reduces the chances of the snake's sharp, yet fragile fangs from becoming damaged, as well as avoiding a comeback from the prey.

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