Posted by Alex, board owner on March 26, 2006, 1:22 am After trying a few times to grab the her (I think it was a female) by the head, as even though harmless, a Water Snake can give a healthy nip, and causing her to head toward Suzanne (which didn't go over very well), I finally just grabbed her by the tail in Steve Irwin fashion, and just admired her. She was nicely colored with nice banding. This banding, by the way, causes people (and other animals) to mistake them for Copperheads as Suzanne did, and hopefully leave them alone; a very nice mimicry that is seldom talked about. She also had a lovely red colored belly with dark spots, the hallmark of many Water Snakes. Being upset at having a rather large animal (me) holding her suspended in the air by the tail, she opened her mouth in an attempt to bite or frighten and exposed a perfectly white inner lining, leading people around here when they see it to believe that they have encountered a Cottonmouth (also called "Water Moccasin"). Since we were in the western part of North Carolina and far from the Coastal Plain I knew that the chances of encountering a Cottonmouth were exactly zero. Not near zero, but exactly zero. More on this later. I had Suzanne take a photo of me holding the snake. The photo can be found at here and shows her (the snake) watching me closely in case I made a threatening move. I also got a nice one of the fore part of her body and the markings which make people think "Copperhead". It is at my page and you can click on the link to see. After looking her over for a few minutes and admiring her, I released her near the water where she quickly dove in. This changed her colors to a bright hue, and she seemed to glow. This is always the case; Water Snakes are rather dull when dry, but are very bright when wet. I suspect that she was recently out of hibernation and was making her way to the water, though there is a small pond with frogs, so she might have been there getting an early Spring meal.. People here tell me under no uncertain terms that they have caught, killed, or seen Cottonmouths. Folks, unless you can take me to one, and show it to me, I can not accept it, since I have lived here all my life, have seen just about every snake that lives here, and have never seen a Cottonmouth (Water Mocassin). Look at the range maps made by people who study snakes more than I do; they just aren't here. End of story. Hopefully a good omen for a good year! Alex
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My wife Suzanne found the first snake of the year for me about the first week of March. We were in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard NC, and She was walking about 50 yards ahead of me and yelled "Copperhead!", so I ran in her direction. As I got closer, I realized that though chubby and having a rather broadish head, it just didn't look like a Copperhead. As I approached the snake to pick it up, she warned me of dire consequences if I touched it. I said "it's not a Copperhead". When she asked "what is it then", I replied "a Northern Water Snake".
Have fun in Nature!
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