Indiana Snakes: The Truth

I’m not sure why, but I have feared snakes. Dogs? Yes. Snakes? No. Most of my friends fear snakes. My brothers, one in particular, are terrified of them. Actually, most all of the population has an instinctual fear of snakes. Fear of snakes is the number one animal phobia in the United States driving people to run them over with their cars, throw rocks at them, shoot them, and do many other countless things to what is really an eco-important and unassuming part Mother Nature.  On a side note, most species are protected by the State of Indiana and should be left alone.

Here is a quick quiz for you. 1) How many species of water moccasins do you think we have in Indiana? Two. One is the Copperhead and the other is the Cottonmouth. 2) Are snakes poisonous or venomous? Venomous.  3) How many venomous snakes are in Indiana? Four.

There are very few venomous snakes in Indiana, about ten percent of the total species. Oh, and we really do not have “moccasins” as most people describe them. Most of the snakes that people like to call moccasins are only water snakes.  The copperhead and the cottonmouth are the only two “moccasins” we have. As long as I have lived in the state, and as much as I am outdoors I have only seen one copperhead and I have never seen a cottonmouth. We just do not have cottonmouths around here; though, I am sure that you or someone you know would swear up and down that you have.  According to the DNR, there is only one county in the far south central part of the state that has a cottonmouth population.

My wife, Jennie, and I were recently walking around Shakamak State Park. As we walked, a car passed us, stopped, backed up, sat for a few minutes, and then left. Jennie and I both wondered what they were doing. As we walked it became obvious: there was a snake in the road and the driver saw this.

The snake was a Black King Snake. The snake was about three feet long and black from head to tip with a white belly. It was warming itself on the pavement of the road and looked to be dead when we walked up to it. I easily could have grabbed it, but decided to agitate it instead. I wanted to video tape this encounter, so I could show it to my students this upcoming school year. Jennie recorded with my iphone while I first moved it with a stick.

The snake’s appearance quickly changed. The ashy black snake had yellow bandings on its back that brightened as it coiled around. The snake took a defensive posture, quickly flicked its tail to sound like a rattler, and coiled to strike. I knew it wasn’t poisonous— Indiana’s only poisonous snakes are the occasional Copperhead, the virtually nonexistent Cottonmouth, and the almost never seen Timber rattlesnake and Massasauga rattlesnake—and I also knew that the snake was only biding time until it could slither away. After I recorded enough for a good classroom discussion, I moved it into the ditch where it quickly disappeared.

Here is a link to a video I uploaded of this encounter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Tb79mYHnY