Natural History:
The Banded Water
Snake
That's me ^
On our class trip to Donnelly
wildlife management area in Wadmalaw, South Carolina, we caught a banded water
snake (Nerodia fasciata). Traps were set out by Dr. Welch prior to our
arrival and in the middle of the wet-land we discovered this amazing herp. The snake was dark with a light underside and
had distinct red bands that wrapped its scales from one side to the other,
leaving a checkerboard pattern on the underside. The eyes were circular and the snake was caught
in the water so we were able to determine its family origin fairly quickly.
Having the opportunity to handle
such an epic herp was a joyful experience.
I never thought that I would ever handle a wild snake. I really didn’t think it was possible. I almost caught a snake on our trip to Dixie
Plantation but it got away so hanging out with the banded water snake at
Donnelly made the semester complete!
3 comments:
I actually pulled that trap. It scared me at first because we were in great cottonmouth territory, and the upperside's pattern looked much like a cottonmouth. Through the holes in the trap, I couldn't see the eyes or head enough to rule it out.
Yeah I hear you Chris. Awesome find! Highlight of my week!! Nice pictures Seamus :)
We caught several N. fasciata in minnow traps at Donnelley last year (though I don't think any were quite as large as this lovely lady). I've wondered about our chances of catching a cottonmouth in a minnow trap, Chris. Cottonmouths are supposed to swim on the surface, whereas water snakes tend to submerge themselves for swimming - I suspect/hope that this means that cottonmouths are less likely to find their way into our traps! Nevertheless, I made sure to get a good look at her round pupils before we opened the trap!
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