Water Moccasin
RW, Jr. and myself were doing some riverwalking earlier today and ran across this little critter. He was pretty easy to spot while he was crossing the trail. We just waited for him to cross and then continued our hike.
This time the snake was...
Staying above the water line!
Riverwalker
From what I have seen they are the most aggressive snake in the Southeast. Big Canebrake Rattlesnakes may be scarier when they coil up and rattle, but I don't think they are as aggressive. I have only killed two snakes in my life - two moccasins at different times. I didn't like doing it but felt that it had to be done as they were aggressively pursuing me. On the other hand, a friend and I stumbled, literally, upon a nice big fat rattler in the woods - beautifully coiled, hissing with the tongue out and rattling. We had a wide enough berth to live and let live. Even though a bite could have been trouble, I though it was the prettiest snake I had ever seen in the wild. I used to condemn people that wantonly killed snakes. I still don't like it, but I find that educating people can sometimes change behavior. For example, my mom fears snakes, but she understands that that big ol' black snake is eating voles and mice which were undermining her begonias!
ReplyDeleteYep, got chased away from a under roadway canal from a moccassin - I nearly walked on water, lol.
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