Over our class field trips, we encountered many different herps, but only one truly venomous: the Copperhead! Scientific name, Agkistrodon contortrix, this snake is widely known for the hourglass shape on its body and occasionally a green tipped tail (in baby and juveniles). I have seen many copperheads in the wild before, but this was the first one where I was within a distance to potentially be injured!
As you all know, that day in Caw Caw we had our protective boots on and were using various items to flip logs, etc. As I was flipping logs, my original intention was to look for skinks, but upon my search I stumbled upon this juvenile Copperhead.
Unknowingly, I placed my hands on a log, ready to flip it and discover some fast skinks underneath. Right before I flipped the long, I hesitated and something told me to flip the log from a different side and it's a very good thing I did. Where my hands had just been, just a few inches below my fingertips was a deadly little snake (and this is why we use potato rakes people).
These pit vipers are terrestrial and often hide under brush or leaf litter. As you can see, this juvenile was surrounded by leaf litter that allowed it to camouflage itself. The baby Copperheads are known to be the most venomous, while juveniles like this one also have a large dose of venom. Although all stages of this snake's life history can be detrimental to a human, it is at these smaller sizes that are most damaging. I was unable to see the green tipped tail to truly identify the age of this snake, but from its coiled position, it was clear that this snake was not an adult.
2 comments:
What an awesome find! I'm so sad I missed it. Good points on making proper use of equipment in the field.
One interesting point - the idea that young snakes are somehow more dangerous than adults is a long persisting myth, put to rest by Carl Ernst Ernst in his Venomous Reptiles of North America. Ernst did studies that revealed that enzymatic activity of venom seems to increase with age (this was on timber rattlesnakes, I believe). So not only does larger venom gland size mean that adults can deliver more, but the venom is also more virulent. He went on to state that babies seem to have less muscular control, and that dry bites were more likely from seasoned adults who had the experience to know a bite alone was enough defense from a silly human encroaching on their space. Babies tend to deliver their full load when threatened. And when we're talking about bites from copperheads, well, that's rarely fatal. If you're allergic or have some other immune issue, maybe. Copperheads hold the least destructive venom of any of our natives. Even better, researchers are using their venom in work on treating breast cancer! Copperheads pack a painful bite, but the real danger we face as biologists is the magnification of fear regarding these animals.
Great find! Fortunately, copperheads like most venomous snakes don't tend to attack unless they are directly threatened. Nicole makes excellent posts about dry bites and the fact that copperhead bites are almost never fatal. Nonetheless, yes, please use caution when looking under - and stepping over - logs, as a snake that is accidentally stepped on may resort to biting defensively.
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