Water Moccasin

The powerboat slowed to allow Eric to swing wide and ski slowly up onto the shore. As the skis grabbed into the soft mud along the riverbank- the skier suddenly screamed in pain- "Snakes!" The tone of his voice was blood curdling. Eric's friends in the boat looked toward him in horror. It looked as if a wad of about twenty snakes were draping his upper body.

John, who was driving the craft, quickly turned the boat and rushed to help his friend. Eric was struggling to climb out of the water while also trying to remove the biting snakes. He kept slipping back into the river- his tightly latched skis were tripping him and impeding his exit from the soft mud.

John reached him, and along with the others in the boat- pulled Eric on board. Eric's lips were turning blue. "Cottonmouths," Eric said. "The skis dug up a nest of them."

Before his friends were able to get Eric to the hospital- he died from the venom of the multiple bites.

Versions of the above story are common throughout the Southeastern United States. However, there is a problem with the stories. The stories aren't true. Such is the legend of the water moccasin, aka Cottonmouth. This is an awesome snake that inspires such legends. (To read why the legend isn't true: see Rootsweb)

Water Moccasins tend to be more aggressive than other snakes when they are threatened. Some people have recounted stories of these snakes biting boats that ventured too near. However, in my three close encounters (5 feet or less) with these snakes- they have never acted threateningly or attempted to bite me. Of course, I was in a canoe and the snake was on a log- so I didn't feel threatened either. If I had been swimming and happened upon one- we both might have felt a bit more nervous.

The scientific name for the Water Moccasin is Agkistrodon piscivorus. The word agkistrodon is a combination of the Greek word ancistro, meaning "hook" and odon meaning "tooth". (Source) Piscivorus is a little easier to translate- it simply means "fish eater."

The snake's common name of Cottonmouth comes from the moccasin's behavior of opening its mouth wide and displaying the snowy white, or "cottony", lining of its mouth when it feels threatened. A friend and I have prodded one of these snakes before- nudging it with a boat paddle- trying to get it to display that white lining so that I could get a photograph- but the snake ignored my obnoxious behavior and slowly swam away.

The photo of the older, darker Cottonmouth was taken at Lake Mitchell in Chilton County, AL. The younger, copper colored Cottonmouth is the Florida species of the Water Moccasin. The photo of it was taken in the Okefenokee Swamp in south Georgia. My friend, Dr. Ron Van Houten, can be seen in the photo taking a picture of a young Cottonmouth (it is about 2' in front of him.) Ron is a respected Zoologist, aka professional. Evidently he has some type of peace treaty with the poisonous snakes- as they haven't bitten him yet.

Facts about the Cottonmouth

Cottonmouths are Pit Vipers- like the Copperhead and Rattlesnake

10% of snakebites a year are inflicted by the Cottonmouth. (source)

Cottonmouths CAN bite underwater

Cottonmouths do not taste like cotton candy

A teacher in Texas took a Cottonmouth to the high school at which he taught- he had misidentified it, thinking that is was a non-poisonous species. Unfortunately, 2 students were bit by the snake and were hospitalized after their hands started to swell. (source)