Perhaps you know that sometimes rattlesnakes that are thought to be dead can still strike, bite, and kill you. Doctors in the southwest USA have a large number of patients admitted to hospitals each year suffering from bites from rattlers… thought to be dead. Sometimes the snakes were shot and their heads cutoff; but, the snake head retains a reflex action. In fact, one study showed that snake heads could still make striking-type motions up to sixty minutes after decapitation.