I would leave it alone (as I have several times before while hiking or riding horseback). I'm a guest in his environment, his home. Rattlers are really very shy, retiring creatures and they generally only coil and strike in response to what they believe is a direct threat. Walking through Canyonlands, I walked next to several of them, less than four feet from them in most cases, while they were stretched out, sunning themselves in the early morning.

If it was out in the wild, I'd leave it. I hope that if I leave nature alone, nature will leave me alone.

Now, if it's in my house, all bets are off and that rattler is dead!

Short story here, back when I was 18, I worked in a sales office out in the boonies, where rattlers were a common site in the fields (as were jackrabbits), until the rattler would find a jackrabbit, and then bye bye jackrabbit. One day, the only secretary in an all-male office of mostly outside salesmen, I came back after lunch to an empty office. This was a common occurrence.

Only thing, this day, it wasn't as empty as I was used to it being.

When I made it to my desk, put my purse in the drawer, untransferred the switchboard from the answering service, turned on my computer (what there was of a computer back in those days) and sat at my desk. I bent to pick up something I'd dropped and there, curled up happily sleeping under my desk, was a rattle snake.

I froze.

It saw me.

I blinked.

It didn't.

Slowly, I slid, fractions of an inch at a time, away from the snake until I was around the corner of the desk and I took off running for the front door, where I dutifully sat, smoking cigarettes (a habit I have since given up) and refusing to go back inside.

Eventually, the owner came and got out of his truck and started cursing me up one side and down the other about not being in answering the phones and he'd been trying to call all bleeping afternoon.

I calmly explained about the snake under the desk, taking another puff off my cigarette.

"Oh." He said. "Damn."

"Yeah," says I.

Needless to say, they eventually corralled the snake and shooed him into the shop and then eventually out the back garage-bay doors of the shop. They didn't kill it, but I think this was more because they were too scared to try to kill it and fail than they were about saving the snake's life.

I would leave it alone long as it wasn't threatening me

I would leave the snake to go about its business. Most rattlesnake bites are a result of somebody stepping on a snake they didn't see, or putting their hand on one if they are scrambling over uneven terrain. Generally the snake wants to leave a threatening situation. Biting a non prey item is just a waste of venom; they have limited reserves and it is inefficient to waste. The snakes also have benefit of a rattle, to warn away humans that may be unaware of their presence. If you have never heard a rattlesnake rattle, well the second you hear one you KNOW what it is and that is usually enough to avert the bite. Even if somebody was bitten, rattlesnakes dry-bite (don't inject venom) about a third of the time they bite defensively, and if they do inject antivenin for rattlesnakes is fairly common and easy to access. As long as prompt medical attention is administered the victim will usually be fine.

Without rattlesnakes there would be an explosion of mice, rats and other rodents that are their preferred prey items. Uncontrolled rodent populations can damage an ecosystem, and inflict economic damage as well, so the snake is really doing us a service by keeping them in check.

I will leave it because I love all animals like you @shado.

I will also leave for another reason bcz my uncle has a firm of snake. I love all snakes of this firm.

No way to say that I will kill it because it will not beat you if you not beat it.So leave it.

Every animal include snakes are important to keep well environment's general order/form. Snakes also help us to keep environment pollution free.

After all I will say, all animal are assets of our earth.So you have no right to destroy an asset.

This weapon is really harmful for us not that rattle
Stay with peace and connected
@safiqulislam

I'd leave it alone. It isn't attacking me, it isn't completely in my way (unless it's a VERY large rattlesnake!) and I don't believe in killing things just because. Hopefully the next hiker to come along will have common sense and do the same.

Nope, I would seriously pass out. I'm not scared of much but a snake can stop me dead in my tracks. With my luck, I'd just tick the snake off more trying to kill it and get bit and the next hiker would have the same fate.

I would try to avoid him if possible. Most snakes will move away from you and hide if you give them the chance. Now if I happen to wake up and he is in my sleeping bag, one of us is being carried out.

I would leave it, but i would run far far away. I don't think it's right to kill something that is not threatening you directly. After all, snakes are smaller than human beings.