A western diamondback rattlesnake “tastes” the air at the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary. Samantha Chow, Cronkite News The western diamondback on average bears 12 live snakelets a year.

At about 7 a.m. Thursday, an 81-year-old man was attempting to retrieve a golf ball hit into brush when he was bitten in the left ankle, a Green Valley Fire District news release said.