Cottonmouth seen in Caw Caw County Park
At Caw Caw County Park near Charleston,
SC, I saw for the first time in the wild a venomous snake. Being from Michigan,
I have never been worried about snakes. Michigan has only one venomous snake,
the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake. It is known commonly by many in Michigan as
the ‘Michigan rattlesnake.’ One would think I would know something about this
snake after spending the majority of my life in Michigan out in the wilderness
in areas such as forest, farms, swamps, etc. I thought Michigan might have had
one poisonous snake, but only with an online search did I know for sure. This
is how little concern I had for snakes in Michigan. I’ve seen three black widow
spiders in Michigan and that’s it for venomous interactions. I’d be more
worried about cougar interactions than I would be with venomous snakes. As a
child, I loved playing with snakes, frogs, turtles, and other animals. However,
I found that as I grew older and the farther south I got, the less interested I
was in snakes. South Carolina is home to far too many venomous snakes for me to
be comfortable with. Now that I can identify the venomous snakes in South
Carolina I can be sure to avoid them even more so than I will be avoiding all
of the other snakes.
Our Herpetology lab started out by
checking minnow traps that were set in the black water swamp beside the forest
in the county park. Just before we prepared to move onto our next trap
location, our lab assistant, Hannah, spotted a water snake near the bank of the
swamp. Unfortunately, we were unable to net the snake. While looking for it,
another student spotted a snake resting on a small branch in the same area as
the first snake. The second snake dropped into the water and was not caught
either. We picked up our gear and continued to the next location of minnow
traps. We were walking down a flooded out path through the woods next to the
marsh. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a curled up snake which was a safe
viewing distance away. The snake was quickly identified as an Eastern Cottonmouth,
Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus.
Being the first time I had seen a poisonous snake in the wild, I was very
excited about spotting it. Not only was it positively identified as a venomous
snake, but it just looked plain dangerous, majestic, but dangerous. It was a
humbling experience.
By the time that I had seen the
snake, it was already curled up in a defensive striking position. The
cottonmouth may, when it feels threatened, open its mouth and expose the trait
that earned it its name, a cotton white interior mouth. The cottonmouth is a
large semi-aquatic pit viper with all of the characteristics of the pit viper
family. They usually have a size of 24 to 48 inches. The snake I saw was curled
up making it difficult to determine the size but a guess would call it average.
Behavior can help with the
identification of these snakes that can be confused with water snakes.
Cottonmouths often remain where they are or slowly retreat, whereas water
snakes commonly retreat quickly or drop into the water. The cottonmouth has a
variety of possible colors such as olive, black, or brown with a lighter
colored belly. The snake has dark cross bands with more or less distinct borders
often with a lighter color in the center. They also can have a small marking of
the darker colored border in the lighter colored center. The snake we saw fit
this description very well. Juveniles and young adults are usually disctinctly
patterned and older adults may have little or no patterns, hinting that the
snake we saw was not an old adult. Other characteristics that can help
distinguish the cottonmouth from a water snake include: weakly keeled dorsal
scales, single row of scales under tail, and single anal plate.
No distinguishing pattern, cotton white mouth
Another color variation, juvenile
The female cottonmouth produces
1-20 live young every two to three years. They are found in freshwater
wetlands, lakes, rivers, cypress swamps, and wetlands. They are often found basking
during the day near water, much like the one I saw. The cottonmouth can be an
opportunistic feeder and uses ambush as well as active hunting strategies
mostly at night for food. The cottonmouth eats a variety of animals such as:
amphibians, lizards, snakes, small turtles, mammals, birds, and fish. An important thing I learned, especially with a boating
trip planned down a river a month from now, is about the differences between
the cottonmouth and water snakes. Including those already mentioned others can
help differentiate the two. Cottonmouths are rarely found high in trees whereas
that is where water snakes often bask. Also, Cottonmouths in the water can be
recognized for the fact that most of their body is out of the water while
swimming.
Looking back on the experience, I
am very thankful for it. On our next field experience, I was actively looking
for snakes. Perhaps the reason was to avoid stepping on a poisonous snake, but
I was excited to see some. I may not want to hold snakes but I can appreciate
the fact that they are very cool and interesting creatures. I would have
nothing wrong with having a small non venomous snake in a terrarium next to my
array of aquariums, and my once-feral cat may agree. I do not, however, want to
bump into one unexpectedly while hunting or boating. Luckily, though, I can now
recognize the ones to be cautiously avoided in this area of the South. References:
Peterson Field Guides: Reptiles and Amphibians, Eastern/Central North America.
1 comment:
And of course, the head shape and appearance of the eye, can also be used to help distinguish between Nerodia and cottonmouths.
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