Caw Caw Cottonmouth

On March 10, 2015 my herpetology class and I went on our first field trip. We wore weighters and got waste deep in the swamps looking for herps and retrieving traps that were set the previous day. As we were walking to our second location of traps, there was a large Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) sitting on the boardwalk. Just beyond this cottonmouth, there was another one sitting at the base of a tree about 6 feet away. Both were rather large and very fat, however the sex was not able to be determined from the distance we viewed the snake at. Both of the snakes were basking in direct sunlight, probably to get the last little bit of sunlight they could before sunset that night. The one on the boardwalk did not stay put for long, and as we approached it, it uncoiled and dropped into the water and made its way towards the other one at the base of the tree. By rough estimate I would say the one on the boardwalk was about 2-3 feet and the one at the base of the tree was easily 3-4 feet. Both the snakes were
out of the water for the moment, but were directly beside it because of their preferences for water. The habitat was well covered, and at first it was hard to see the second cottonmouth at the base of the tree because of its camouflage blending it into the environment so well. Prior to this find, I had been wanting to see a snake on the field trip, but had no such luck. So when the cottonmouth appeared, I was ecstatic. I wish it would have been a non-venomous snake so that we could have held it, but observing from a distance did just fine. The fact that we were on a boardwalk overlooking the two snakes as they slithered in the swampy waters allowed us to get much closer than we would have otherwise been able to do. In all, the experience was amazing and the fact that we got to see a very large venomous snake in its natural habitat made my day. Until next time! Herp on!

-Bodi