A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Agkistrodon piscivoris
Dark colored, stout pit viper
Swamps, creeks, rivers, lakes, ponds
PLEASE NOTE: ULCM members do not "handle" venomous snakes by hand, but do carefully manipulate them with snake hooks or snake tongs as needed to facilitate photo documentation. We do not encourage lay-people to interact with venomous snakes. Observe them with caution and move along. Photo shows a medium-sized adult with a good pattern and shows the trademark mouth gaped open. Snake was released where found.
Spotted on May 25, 2012
Submitted on Jun 6, 2012
6 Comments
Hi Jackie,
Welcome to Project Noah! And thanks for helping to spread the word that snakes are a valuable part of the world!
Lisa
Interesting! Thanks for adding in this narrative and advice!
Story: 11th Annual Under a Low Country Moon Hell Hole Swamp Nature Interpretive Weekend takes place the last weekend of May. A loosely organized group of naturalists, survey the flora a fauna of the Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina, mostly via road-cruising. We always find cottonmouths, banded water snakes and brown water snakes in the area, as well as glossy crayfish snakes and mud snakes. However, this year the drought is so severe there was almost no water. I found an emaciated banded water snake, one eastern kingsnake and this cottonmouth. We detain the snakes temporarily for a photo and then we move along. I don't know how the cottonmouths are looking so well--maybe by eating some of the poor unfortunates who are not thriving.
Welcome to Project Noah! Is there a story here? I'm sure the community would be interested!
Nice!!
Lovely but dangerous. It is nice you can see the white cotton mouth though! Hope nobody got hurt.