A slightly different version of this was posted in May of 2013. I know, it’s cold outside. Temps are in the mid-20s as I write and snakes are nowhere to be seen. Most of you are probably not going to spend a whole lot of time outdoors during the next few days, so why not sit back, grab a cup of joe (or cocoa), and brush up on your snake identification skills. Besides, we start seeing water snakes in our WetlandsRead more
Posts tagged: #Copperhead
A Tale of Two Tails
As I walked towards the Butterfly House on my way to my office, I noticed a small group of young children looking down at the ground and laughing, there must be something interesting over there. I approached. Lying on ground in the center of a circle of four or five squatting children, was a small U-shaped object. The object moved, wiggled. It was the tail of a skink. A few feet away was the skink itself, the lower third ofRead more
Northern Water Snake vs Copperhead
It’s almost a daily occurrence, I’d be watching a water snake coiled up and snoozing in the grass on the north side of the Wetlands, point the snake out to someone passing by and they’d say, “That looks like a Copperhead,” or, “Is that a moccasin, cottonmouth?” or most often, “Is it poisonous?” The answer to that statement and those questions is always no. In explaining my no response, last question first, no snake in our area is poisonous. It’s an honestRead more
Copperhead: Part III
The snake in the photo is about the size of a pencil. It’s probably not much older than a week. Read more
Copperheads: Part II
Not more than twenty minutes after seeing the first copperhead in Explore the Wild (8/26/11), another call came in from Rachael (Entomology Specialist) that a snake was on the path near the head of the Dinosaur Trail. Rushing off to that location, we discovered a larger Copperhead more accustomed to the presence of humans, it was leisurely crawling across the pavement and headed for the woods. Leave it alone and it will leave you alone. Unfortunately the snake crawled under aRead more
Don’t Tread On Me!
When a Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) hears, or feels, you coming its way it generally freezes. They often stop their forward motion and wait for you to pass by, relying on their cryptic coloration to hide them from your view, you being a potential predator. Most folks pass right by Copperheads, unseen. Some people accidentally step on these docile snakes for the same reason (they don’t see them), causing the snakes to react with a bit to the leg. And ofRead more
Is that a Moccasin?
I’ve said this before, snakes have been putting on a show in the Wetlands. The one pictured at right sat out in the open for quite a while at the foot of the boardwalk near the main Black Bear Overlook while many Museum guests got great looks at it. Understandably, upon first viewing this snake many folks thought it a Copperhead, or Cottonmouth (Water Moccasin). It’s neither. It’s a Northern Water Snake. The pattern on water snakes can vary considerablyRead more