by Dale Hoyt
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| Water Moccasin in threat position, exposing the white lining of the mouth. Note the stout body, distinctly narrower tail and the dark cross-bands. Cross banding usually becomes less obvious with age (size). Source: CDC/ Edward J. Wozniak D.V.M., Ph.D., John Willson at the University of Georgia, at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
In the late 1950's I was an undergraduate at The University of Kansas and worked as a curatorial assistant in the division of reptiles and amphibians. This gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of herpetologists who visited the museum. One of my professors told me this story about a herpetologist I'll call Bill.
Bill was originally from West Virginia and would often return home to visit his family and hang out with old friends. On one of these occasions Bill and a friend were fishing from a boat in a lake in the mountains of West Virginia. Suddenly, his friend spotted a snake swimming in the water near the boat.
"Watch out Bill! There's a moccasin right in front of you!"
Water moccasins are a coastal plain snake and are not found in the mountains. Also, non-venomous water snakes are often misidentified as moccasins. Plus, as a herpetologist, Bill knew how to tell a harmless water snake from a moccasin. So, he tells his friend, "That's not a moccasin; it's just a common water snake."
His friend insists that it's a moccasin.
To prove his point, Bill reaches over the side of the boat and grabs the water snake. Water snakes, although not venomous, have a nasty disposition and will bite viciously when caught, as this one does. Bill holds up his hand which the snake is busy chewing on and turns to his friend, "See, it's harmless."
He then detaches the snake from his hand and throws it back into the water. His friend is stunned into silence. Bill is feeling smug. He's vividly demonstrated his superior knowledge of snakes and taught his friend a lesson as well.
The two men continue to fish in silence. Fifteen or twenty minutes pass and Bill's friend finally breaks the silence:
"Bill, if that moccasin had been sunning itself before it bit you, you'd be dead by now."
Bill was originally from West Virginia and would often return home to visit his family and hang out with old friends. On one of these occasions Bill and a friend were fishing from a boat in a lake in the mountains of West Virginia. Suddenly, his friend spotted a snake swimming in the water near the boat.
"Watch out Bill! There's a moccasin right in front of you!"
Water moccasins are a coastal plain snake and are not found in the mountains. Also, non-venomous water snakes are often misidentified as moccasins. Plus, as a herpetologist, Bill knew how to tell a harmless water snake from a moccasin. So, he tells his friend, "That's not a moccasin; it's just a common water snake."
His friend insists that it's a moccasin.
To prove his point, Bill reaches over the side of the boat and grabs the water snake. Water snakes, although not venomous, have a nasty disposition and will bite viciously when caught, as this one does. Bill holds up his hand which the snake is busy chewing on and turns to his friend, "See, it's harmless."
He then detaches the snake from his hand and throws it back into the water. His friend is stunned into silence. Bill is feeling smug. He's vividly demonstrated his superior knowledge of snakes and taught his friend a lesson as well.
The two men continue to fish in silence. Fifteen or twenty minutes pass and Bill's friend finally breaks the silence:
"Bill, if that moccasin had been sunning itself before it bit you, you'd be dead by now."
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Here is a website that will help you learn how to tell the difference between Water Moccasins and harmless water snakes.
https://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/water_moccasin_watersnake_comparison.shtml
