Kanopolis ? Western Diamondback rattlesnakes, among the most deadly snakes in the country, have been showing up in Kanopolis State Park, creating concern that the snakes are being illegally dumped there.

Eight Western Diamondback rattlesnakes have been seen or captured at the park since 1991, a relatively large number for a concentrated area where the snakes are not native.

The venomous snakes, which typically are found from central California to central Arkansas and south of there, can grow to be 7 feet long.

“Kansas is the first place in the country that has been impacted substantially by such activity,” said Joseph Collins, adjunct herpetologist for the Kansas Biological Survey in Lawrence. “These snakes are not a problem in other states because they are already found there.”

Few hikers have come into contact with the snakes and only one since 1991 has been bitten. That victim, a herpetologist, survived. But the consistency with which the snakes have been spotted has alarmed state biologists.

Kanopolis State Park is the state’s oldest park and comprises about 22,000 acres in central Kansas.

Travis Taggart, adjunct curator of herpetology at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, said a possible explanation for someone intentionally dumping the snakes would be to start a breeding population.

Western diamondback rattlesnakes are among the most deadly American snakes. Recently, they've been showing up in places where they don't belong -- namely Kanopolis State Park.

That way, Taggart said, enthusiasts could go out and find rattlesnakes in a similar manner to the “rattlesnake roundups” held in Texas, Oklahoma and wherever else the snakes are normally found.

“It’s tough to say why people do it, though,” Taggart said.

Although the area is colder than the snakes’ natural habitat, Western Diamondbacks can survive the winter if they can find a spot below the frost line, Collins said.

Western Diamondbacks typically live in rocky terrain, around limestone outcroppings and in thick brush. People are more likely to get bitten because they step on the snakes, which blend in with their environment, Collins said.

“It’s such a big snake it can’t move very fast — it’s slow and sluggish,” he said. “But it can strike very fast.”

The biggest rattlesnake native to Kansas is about 2 feet long. Although the Western Diamondback is “more dangerous” than native snakes, Taggart said anyone bit by a snake should seek immediate medical help.

If someone is bitten by a Western Diamondback in Kansas but doesn’t recognize the snake, Collins said, hospitals may treat the patient for a standard Kansas snakebite, which requires a different anti-venom treatment.