Natural History: Copperhead

It was a sunny September day in Charleston, South Carolina. I was beginning my Sophomore year at the College. My roommate and I decided to take a day trip to Caw Caw Interpretive Center. We packed a lunch and spent the day exploring the natural areas at the park. We walked all around the woods and the old rice paddies. We searched for alligators but had no luck in finding any, though we did hear one flee into the water at one point. Our day was coming to an end and we were walking through the wooded area across from the picnic tables. Suddenly I hear my roommate yell "STOP!". I stop mid step. She then tells me to move my right foot up to where my left foot is. I do so without a question as she sounded very urgent in her commands. Then she tells me to turn around. I turn and see just how narrowly I evaded a dangerous encounter with a venomous snake. It was an adult, foot and a half long copperhead snake, Agkistrodon contortrix, that had been lying in the middle of the walkway. Its body is patterned with light and dark tan colors, making it look like another part of the dirt. These snakes inhabit much of the eastern United States, typically being found in deciduous forest and mixed woodlands. It is most common around rocky outcroppings and low-lying swampland. Theses snakes are pit vipers, which means they have venom, but the toxicity of the copperheads venom is relatively weak compared to other pit vipers. Typically if the animal does bite, it does so with a "warning bite" first. This kind of bite has a small amount of venom or none at all. Had I been bitten that sunny September day, it is very likely that I would have been completely fine. It is very rare for a copperhead bite to be fatal. All I can say about this encounter is that I am glad my roommate is more observant than I am!

Citation: Hartsuff, A. 2015. "Agkistrodon contortrix" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 26, 2017 at http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Agkistrodon_contortrix/