Contrary to popular belief, the Water Moccasin commonly known as
the "Cottonmouth" is the only poisonous water-loving snake in the
United States. It is a large, very thick-bodied snake with a chunky
head and a short tail that tapers very abruptly from the body. The
inside of its mouth is noticeably white and the moccasin, when
surprised, has a habit of rearing its head back, opening the mouth
wide, and beating its short tail back and forth in a vigorous steady
rhythm. It looks as mean and dangerous as it really is.
It
inhabits swampy areas, bayous and rivers along the Atlantic Coast and
the Gulf of Mexico from southern Virginia to Texas; and up the
Mississippi valley as far as southern Illinois. It will eat birds, small
mammals and the harmless water snakes but feeds principally on fish
and frogs, so the cottonmouth usually does not go far from water. It is
generally found on muddy banks of ponds, swamps or sluggish
streams, on partly submerged logs, or on low limbs of bushes and trees
overhanging such water areas.
Like most snakes, a cottonmouth will not attack if it can escape.
Walking along a bayou southeastern Missouri one time, a huge one
glided across the path, only three feet ahead of us, into the water.
Quietly paddling a dugout canoe through those bayous, moccasins
frequently dropped off of branches just in front of us, and swam away
beneath the surface to shelter, in a growth of cattails.
The cottonmouth, like the rattlesnakes and its close relative, the
copper head, is a pit viper. There is a deep pit, apparently a sense
organ, between each eye and the corresponding nostril. There are, of
course, two long hollow fangs at the front of the upper jaw, like
hypodermic needles, for stabbing its prey and injecting the venom.
The moccasin' s scales are keeled and rough. Its color may be dull olive, sooty brown or almost black, with indistinct dark bands which
disappear in older snakes that become 4 or 5 feet long. The young,
from 7 to 12 in number, are born alive, bright brown and brilliantly
marked, with sulfur-yellow tails.
See the attached picture...
the "Cottonmouth" is the only poisonous water-loving snake in the
United States. It is a large, very thick-bodied snake with a chunky
head and a short tail that tapers very abruptly from the body. The
inside of its mouth is noticeably white and the moccasin, when
surprised, has a habit of rearing its head back, opening the mouth
wide, and beating its short tail back and forth in a vigorous steady
rhythm. It looks as mean and dangerous as it really is.
It
inhabits swampy areas, bayous and rivers along the Atlantic Coast and
the Gulf of Mexico from southern Virginia to Texas; and up the
Mississippi valley as far as southern Illinois. It will eat birds, small
mammals and the harmless water snakes but feeds principally on fish
and frogs, so the cottonmouth usually does not go far from water. It is
generally found on muddy banks of ponds, swamps or sluggish
streams, on partly submerged logs, or on low limbs of bushes and trees
overhanging such water areas.
Like most snakes, a cottonmouth will not attack if it can escape.
Walking along a bayou southeastern Missouri one time, a huge one
glided across the path, only three feet ahead of us, into the water.
Quietly paddling a dugout canoe through those bayous, moccasins
frequently dropped off of branches just in front of us, and swam away
beneath the surface to shelter, in a growth of cattails.
The cottonmouth, like the rattlesnakes and its close relative, the
copper head, is a pit viper. There is a deep pit, apparently a sense
organ, between each eye and the corresponding nostril. There are, of
course, two long hollow fangs at the front of the upper jaw, like
hypodermic needles, for stabbing its prey and injecting the venom.
The moccasin' s scales are keeled and rough. Its color may be dull olive, sooty brown or almost black, with indistinct dark bands which
disappear in older snakes that become 4 or 5 feet long. The young,
from 7 to 12 in number, are born alive, bright brown and brilliantly
marked, with sulfur-yellow tails.
See the attached picture...
