Not a banded water snake. I see plenty of these and those. This is most defintely a cottonmouth. I was observing it hunt so was able to defintively identify it, but could not get a better picture without moving my hands into striking distance.
Practically anywhere in the southeastern United States a snake near a boat could be a venomous water moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus) or harmless water snake.
The banded water snake (Nerodia fasciata), a Louisiana native, often resembles the water moccasin as a defense mechanism It flattens its head and body when threatened to give a more-than-passable rendition of a water moccasin's fat body and triangular head.
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Not a banded water snake. I see plenty of these and those. This is most defintely a cottonmouth. I was observing it hunt so was able to defintively identify it, but could not get a better picture without moving my hands into striking distance.
Practically anywhere in the southeastern United States a snake near a boat could be a venomous water moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus) or harmless water snake.
The banded water snake (Nerodia fasciata), a Louisiana native, often resembles the water moccasin as a defense mechanism It flattens its head and body when threatened to give a more-than-passable rendition of a water moccasin's fat body and triangular head.
Hard to tell from the picture.
https://greennature.com/snakes/