A Mass Emergence of Cottonmouths - Observation of the Week, 4/21/19

Our Observation of the Week is this large group of Cottonmouths, seen in the United States by @wildlandblogger!

A few weeks go, while on a hike in a central part of North America, looking for birds and plants Jared Gorrell had gotten a bit lost but was able to use his phone’s GPS to navigate back to his car. However, something caught his eye. “I noticed a pond along the way and decided to look around it and see if I could find some birds, insects or plants that would be new for me,” he recalls.

I didn’t realize the pond had dirt cliffs around it, and as I walked downslope I nearly stumbled over the edge of one of these, and then I looked down into that pile of cottonmouths. I backed up and sat down, and then proceeded to put my hand down six inches from a juvenile cottonmouth. After moving it out of the way with a long stick and then going uphill to have a slight panic attack over the close call, I came back down to take pictures and count.

You definitely don’t want to get bitten by a cottonmouth, which is a viper endemic to the United States. While fatalities are rare, this species’ cytotoxic venom can cause severe tissue damage and pain. Although it has a fierce reputation, this snake (like most others) is not aggressive (PDF) and will choose to either escape or engage in threat displays when encountering a human. One of those displays involves showing off the bright white interior of its mouth, giving the species its common name (although it’s also known as a water moccasin, as well). These semi-aquatic snakes eat a wide variety of prey and are often found near water sources, although usually not in such large numbers.

“What you see in the photo is a pile of sunning cottonmouths that have recently emerged from a den site, presumably someplace on a nearby hill,” says Jared.

In this temperate area, snakes form groups like this in sunny spots to warm up more quickly, after leaving a cool underground refuge where they spent the previous winter. Unfortunately, many of these “mass emergences” have been targeted by locals afraid of venomous snakes, so this “ball of cottonmouths” is a rare sighting nowadays, and I’ve intentionally kept the location private for that reason...since poaching and/or harassment are serious issues for reptiles like these cottonmouths, I generally obscure or privatize my herp locations.

Jared, who tells me “at three years old I spoke vaguely with an Australian accent because I watched Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, so often,” will soon be graduating from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale with a degree in plant biology specializing in ecology, and this summer plans on “working with the Critical Trends Assessment Program in Illinois surveying plants and insects at various field sites across the state.”

And during his free time, Jared’s out and about looking for plants, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and has “recently developed an interest in dipnetting for fish and netting for dragonflies and butterflies.” He uses iNat to “log all of my sightings, compete with friends, and share my observations with those around me. iNaturalist has inspired my interest in dragonflies, butterflies and fish, especially fish since they’re so under-reported on this website. I definitely take a lot more pictures now too!”

- by Tony Iwane


- Bird and Moon has a great comic about the myths and facts surrounding cottonmouth snakes.

- Here’s thorough advice on how to survive a snakebite in the wilderness. (Disclosure: I previously worked with Jordan Benjamin, founder of The Asclepius Snakebite Foundation)

- Water snakes of the genus Nerodia are often mistaken for cottonmouths. The University of Florida has a nice resource showing you how to differentiate them.

Posted on 21 de abril de 2019, 11:23 PM by tiwane tiwane

Comentários

Congratulations, Jared!! Great to hear you'll be working with CTAP!

Publicado por missgreen quase 5 anos antes

Amazing stuff! Well done!

Publicado por susanhewitt quase 5 anos antes

Eeep. Nice observation!

Publicado por chlorophilia quase 5 anos antes

nice

Publicado por jamieramsay quase 5 anos antes

Nice!

Publicado por deqinglan quase 5 anos antes

Yikes... Good for Jared for staying calm!

Publicado por alice_herden quase 5 anos antes

How exciting :)

Publicado por carolr quase 5 anos antes

What an event! You are to be applauded for your stoicism and equally your great respect for these noble reptiles!

Publicado por loriorden quase 5 anos antes

bet that was kind of exciting! I've stumbled across similar groups in spring in Hoosier National Forest (not cottonmouth snakes though) on sunny days in spring -- thanks for sharing your photo.

Publicado por martinlucas quase 5 anos antes

As a child, I would walk through the woods down to the San Jacinto River in Harris County, and I've seen the same type of group.... scarey; i moved away silently..

Publicado por twylabirdjean quase 5 anos antes

I lived in Lake Charles, Louisiana for five years from elementary school to high school. I remember tails of people water skiing and falling into a ball of Cottonmouths and perishing. I now doubt any such occurrence actually happened due to the temperature of the water at this time of year - cool to warmer and snakes having already dispersed at this time. But this observation does confirm the basis of the myth, wouldn't you say? Not impossible, but improbable. But then the time for most people's water skiing would be when it was comfortable to wear a bathing suit, not a jacket or sweater. Too bad Ross Allen isn't alive to tell us his story about this species of snake with which he was so familiar.

Cottonmouths are a fascinating species and, despite growing up in their habitat and seeing plenty of them, really, they still offer up new and challenging information about themselves. Thank you for your good work and courage to stay calm enough to complete your observation.

Publicado por billarbon quase 5 anos antes

Wow! A great observation!

Publicado por connlindajo quase 5 anos antes

Wow that's incredible! I love how instead of running away in shock you head back for photos :) It makes a good story as well as a great observation!

Publicado por lisa_bennett quase 5 anos antes

You can see balls of cottonmouths underwater in the Potomac River above the Falls

Publicado por elbobo quase 5 anos antes

Stick with the book learning. Cottonmouths are extremely aggressive and will actually chase you. Please don't give people the false impression that these snakes are passive or even harmless or that they are only protecting themselves. They will even attack you in the water!

Publicado por shoe7 mais de 3 anos antes

@shoe7 I was paddling my kayak on a local lake about ten 15 years ago and was in the middle of the long lake heading downstream the length of the river and lake. I saw what was surely a snake swimming perpendicular to my direction and was approaching half way across the lake - about an eight of a mile in width. I was not close enough to ID the snake by sight, but he was swimming rapidly on the surface and his large head advanced quickly across the lake. I decided to pursue the snake, because, had it been Neordia species, it would have disappeared underwater. It did not and continued a frantic swim across the lake and while I was still too far away to ID the snake struck in my direction - despite the fact I was not near enough to pose a threat. That behavior made me suspect Cottonmouth and I angled my kayak to try to intercept the serpent before it made the nearing bank. Alas, he acquired the bank first and - is their due - quickly became incognito. I never saw the snake again, but I have had two observations of Cottonmouths on this river and nearby creek on iNaturalist. The observations would be a couple of hundred yards from this encounter, so I am confident in my observation. The behavior of this snake is noteworthy because one of the snakes in the nearby observation speed rapidly away from me when he discovered me discovering him. There was no aggression towards me in that instance.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/34801460

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/21564661

Publicado por billarbon mais de 3 anos antes

Cottonmouths can be very territoral and agressive.I have seen them chase and strike at boats,deop fish to swim up strem to chase people near the shore line.The hotter it is beware.It appers to me the snakes were huddeling for warmth..

Publicado por southeast70 quase 2 anos antes

@southeast70 I don't have any experience with cottonmouths but I've definitely found rattlesnakes to not be "aggressive" at all. And there have been studies testing this with cottonmouths. See https://livingalongsidewildlife.com/?p=3681 and https://www.oriannesociety.org/science-of-scales/the-cottonmouth-myth/?v=400b9db48e62

EDIT: "Stalking the Plumed Serpent and Other Adventures in Herpetology" by D Bruce Means also has a chapter on cottonmouths and their perceived aggressive behavior.

Publicado por tiwane quase 2 anos antes

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