Do Blue Racer Or Black Snakes Chase People?

A lot of people have the misconception that blue racers and black snakes chase people in a violent manner. They are very fast creatures, but they are certainly not intent on chasing people and they cannot out run a human being. They are, however, quite aggressive and violent animals.

- Behaviour

The blue racer is especially ferocious when it feels threatened and when they are cornered. In this instance they can sometimes vibrate the tips of their tail which can make a similar noise to that of a rattlesnake. Also, if they are grabbed by the neck they will try and bite the person who is holding them and they will thrash their bodies violently to try and get away. Black snakes are less violent as they tend to freeze when they feel threatened or vibrate their tails. However, they will resort to attacking if they have to.

- Prey

Both forms of snake have similar prey that they feed on, such as small frogs and lizards. However, the black snake will eat baby mice whereas the blue racer will chow down on insects, birds and other snakes. The way they catch their prey is also different. For example, a black snake will trap their food by wrapping their bodies around it until it suffocates. A blue racer on the other hand will pin its prey with its coils, or in some cases it will just swallow it alive.

- Where Are They?

You're likely to find blue racers in the east of the United States in places such as Maine and Louisiana, whereas black snakes are situated throughout the southern states of America, such as New England, Texas as well as southern Canada.

I never believed a snake would or could chase a person until today. I don't know what kind of snake it was--it was in a fresh water lake near our home in Ohio and it was swimming fairly fast. We stopped to look at it as some of us thought it was a turtle's head but it was moving very quickly. Then it stopping swimming and turned and looked at us. Then we realized it was a snake. The entire body surfaced behind it and it was between four and five feet long. It just floated there, on top of the water. It looked at us and we were looking at it. And then it kept its head above the water and started moving very quickly toward us. I saw him heading right toward me with his black tongue going in and out of his mouth. We started to run and he came right up on the bankment and into the grass and started toward us on dry ground. We ran and ran and ran and I have no idea what ever happened to the snake. But as fast as he was going he could have "caught" us if he had wanted to. Unless he just tuckered out or gave up. There is no doubt in my mind that snakes chase people---or follow us very quickly. Whichever, It's pretty frightening.

Yes they do chase you. I have had one chase me.

There is no such thing as a hoop snake. You won't find one in a zoo, you won't find one in a museum. And you won't find a record of a hoop snake observation that has been verified by an independent, second observation.

Black snakes: Racers are fast moving, highly active, diurnal snakes. Their diet consists primarily of rodents, frogs, and lizards, and some species are known to climb trees in order to eat eggs and young birds. Racers typically prefer to make use of their speed to flee when confronted by a potential predator, and if handled, they generally to not hesitate to bite, and sometimes release a fowl smelling musk from their cloaca. They are curious snakes with excellent vision, and are sometimes seen raising their head above the height of the grass they are crawling in to view what is around them.

And do they bite people if afraid

No just to scar them