A “mega den” of hundreds of rattlesnakes in Colorado is getting even bigger now that late summer is here and babies are being born. 

Thanks to livestream video, scientists studying the den on a craggy hillside in Colorado are learning more about these enigmatic — and often misunderstood — reptiles. They’re observing as the youngsters, called pups, slither over and between adult females on lichen-encrusted rocks.

The public can watch too on the Project RattleCam website and help with important work including how to tell the snakes apart. Since researchers put their remote camera online in May, several snakes have become known in a chatroom and to scientists by names including “Woodstock,” “Thea” and “Agent 008.”

The project is a collaboration between California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, snake removal company Central Coast Snake Services and Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

By involving the public, the scientists hope to dispel the idea that rattlesnakes are usually fierce and dangerous. In fact, experts say they rarely bite unless threatened or provoked and often are just the opposite.

Rattlesnakes are not only among the few reptiles that care for their young. They even care for the young of others. The adults protect and lend body heat to pups from birth until they enter hibernation in mid-autumn, said Max Roberts, a CalPoly graduate student researcher.

“We regularly see what we like to call ‘babysitting,’ pregnant females that we can visibly see have not given birth, yet are kind of guarding the newborn snakes,” Roberts said Wednesday.

As many as 2,000 rattlesnakes spend the winter at the location on private land, which the researchers are keeping secret to discourage trespassers. Once the weather warms, only pregnant females remain while the others disperse to nearby territory.

This year, the scientists keeping watch over the Colorado site have observed the rattlesnakes coil up and catch water to drink from the cups formed by their bodies. They’ve also seen how the snakes react to birds swooping in to try to grab a scaly meal.

Rattlesnakes are found almost everywhere in the continental United States, the National Wildlife Federation writes, but experts often note how researching them is difficult for several reasons, including their rugged habitats and secretive behavior.   

Researchers said the best times to check out the live feed are in the morning or early evening, and community observations are always welcome in the YouTube feed’s accompanying live chat.

The highlight of summer is in late August and early September when the rattlesnakes give birth over a roughly two-week period.

“As soon as they’re born, they know how to move into the sun or into the shade to regulate their body temperature,” Roberts said.

There are 36 species of rattlesnakes, most of which inhabit the U.S. They range across nearly all states and are especially common in the Southwest. These being studied are prairie rattlesnakes, which can be found in much of the central and western U.S. and into Canada and Mexico.

Like other pit viper species but unlike most snakes, rattlesnakes don’t lay eggs. Instead, they give birth to live young. Eight is an average-size brood, with the number depending on the snake’s size, according to Roberts.

Roberts is studying how temperature changes and ultraviolet sunlight affect snake behavior. Another graduate student, Owen Bachhuber, is studying the family and social relationships between rattlesnakes.

The researchers watch the live feed all day. Beyond that, they’re getting help from as many as 500 people at a time who tune in online.

“We are interested in studying the natural behavior of rattlesnakes, free from human disturbance. What do rattlesnakes actually do when we’re not there?” Roberts said.

Now that the Rocky Mountain summer is cooling, some males have been returning. By November, the camera running on solar and battery power will be turned off until next spring, when the snakes will re-emerge from their “mega den.”

Project Rattle Cam operates another livestream that tracks a smaller western rattlesnake den along the central coast of California. For the last three years, that feed has observed the den during warmer seasons, when the snakes emerge from their shelter, Cal Poly said. That stream is also set up at an undisclosed location and went live again on July 11.

contributed to this report.

Grand Canyon National Park  —The main pipeline providing water to the Grand Canyon National Park has failed after a series of breaks, leading to a sudden and sweeping shutdown of overnight hotel stays during one of the busiest times of the year for the famous tourist destination.

Water restrictions will run throughout the Labor Day holiday weekend, when hotels are near or at capacity. It’s an unprecedented outcome, even for a pipeline with a long history of frequent failures.

Since July 8, the park has faced challenges with its water supply, and no water is currently being pumped to either the canyon’s south or north rims, officials said.

Heidi Zahner Younts, of Iowa City, Iowa, said Wednesday in a comment on the park’s Facebook page that she had “the trip of a lifetime” with her daughter planned for the weekend, calling the situation sad.

By Wednesday evening, however, she told The Associated Press via Facebook message that she was able to book a different hotel outside the park. She said she hoped the water restrictions would mean “less traffic and people.”

The 12.5 mile-long Transcanyon Waterline, originally built in the 1960s, supplies potable water for facilities on the South Rim and inner canyon. Park officials say it’s exceeded its expected lifespan.

Since 2010, there have been more than 85 major breaks that disrupted water delivery but none that have forced what park officials call “Stage 4” water restrictions. That is, until four recent significant breaks.

Under these water restrictions, visitors won’t be able to stay overnight starting Thursday, including at El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge and Phantom Ranch. The impacts weren’t immediately obvious on Wednesday night, as some hotel restaurants continued serving food and cars filled parking lots at the South Rim.

Hotels located outside the park in the town of Tusayan, Arizona, won’t be impacted, and the park will remain open during the day.

Carved by the Colorado River and known for its vast desert landscapes, the Grand Canyon welcomed nearly 523,000 visitors last August and more than 466,000 visitors last September.

Josh Coddington, communications director at the Arizona Office of Tourism, said he expects an uptick in calls from people wanting to know if they can visit the Grand Canyon.

“The Grand Canyon is known not only throughout the U.S., but throughout the world, and people love visiting it,” he said.

While the park isn’t entirely closed, any perception that it is could negatively impact the cities and towns where tourists sleep, shop and dine on their way to the canyon, including Flagstaff, Williams and Tusayan on the south side and Cameron on the east side.

Park officials hope to restore full operational status for overnight guests on the South Rim as quickly as possible.

Complicating restoration efforts, however, is that the breaks occurred in a narrow part of the canyon known as “the box,” an area susceptible to rock fall and with high temperatures this time of the year. A photo of one of the recent breaks released by park officials shows a funnel of water spewing from the pipe and across the slim canyon.

“It’s definitely a challenging place to be and have a pipeline break on you,” Baird said, noting safety concerns for the crews tasked with repairing the damage.

The pipeline failure comes amid a $208 million rehabilitation project of the waterline by the National Park Service that began recently. Upgrades to the associated water delivery system are expected to be completed in 2027.

The park says it wants to meet water supply needs for 6 million annual visitors and its 2,500 year-round residents.

Grand Canyon National Park  —The main pipeline providing water to the Grand Canyon National Park has failed after a series of breaks, leading to a sudden and sweeping shutdown of overnight hotel stays during one of the busiest times of the year for the famous tourist destination.

Water restrictions will run throughout the Labor Day holiday weekend, when hotels are near or at capacity. It’s an unprecedented outcome, even for a pipeline with a long history of frequent failures.

Since July 8, the park has faced challenges with its water supply, and no water is currently being pumped to either the canyon’s south or north rims, officials said.

Heidi Zahner Younts, of Iowa City, Iowa, said Wednesday in a comment on the park’s Facebook page that she had “the trip of a lifetime” with her daughter planned for the weekend, calling the situation sad.

By Wednesday evening, however, she told The Associated Press via Facebook message that she was able to book a different hotel outside the park. She said she hoped the water restrictions would mean “less traffic and people.”

The 12.5 mile-long Transcanyon Waterline, originally built in the 1960s, supplies potable water for facilities on the South Rim and inner canyon. Park officials say it’s exceeded its expected lifespan.

Since 2010, there have been more than 85 major breaks that disrupted water delivery but none that have forced what park officials call “Stage 4” water restrictions. That is, until four recent significant breaks.

Under these water restrictions, visitors won’t be able to stay overnight starting Thursday, including at El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge and Phantom Ranch. The impacts weren’t immediately obvious on Wednesday night, as some hotel restaurants continued serving food and cars filled parking lots at the South Rim.

Hotels located outside the park in the town of Tusayan, Arizona, won’t be impacted, and the park will remain open during the day.

Carved by the Colorado River and known for its vast desert landscapes, the Grand Canyon welcomed nearly 523,000 visitors last August and more than 466,000 visitors last September.

Josh Coddington, communications director at the Arizona Office of Tourism, said he expects an uptick in calls from people wanting to know if they can visit the Grand Canyon.

“The Grand Canyon is known not only throughout the U.S., but throughout the world, and people love visiting it,” he said.

While the park isn’t entirely closed, any perception that it is could negatively impact the cities and towns where tourists sleep, shop and dine on their way to the canyon, including Flagstaff, Williams and Tusayan on the south side and Cameron on the east side.

Park officials hope to restore full operational status for overnight guests on the South Rim as quickly as possible.

Complicating restoration efforts, however, is that the breaks occurred in a narrow part of the canyon known as “the box,” an area susceptible to rock fall and with high temperatures this time of the year. A photo of one of the recent breaks released by park officials shows a funnel of water spewing from the pipe and across the slim canyon.

“It’s definitely a challenging place to be and have a pipeline break on you,” Baird said, noting safety concerns for the crews tasked with repairing the damage.

The pipeline failure comes amid a $208 million rehabilitation project of the waterline by the National Park Service that began recently. Upgrades to the associated water delivery system are expected to be completed in 2027.

The park says it wants to meet water supply needs for 6 million annual visitors and its 2,500 year-round residents.