Posted by:
natsamjosh
at Sun Aug 17 17:42:12 2008 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by natsamjosh ]
Wow, this has been a great weekend wrt snakes. That little Dekay's (Brown) snake was just a warm-up. My friend's neighbor called me this morning and told me a Copperhead has beenlaying in her flower garden for the last few weeks. To her credit, she resisted the neighbors' requests to kill it. She sounded pretty knowledgeable after I grilled her, so I got together my venomous snake gear (hockey sticks, spaghetti tongs, thick gloves, etc.) and drove up to Raleigh. (I'm joking around a bit, but don't get me wrong, I have a good understanding of what I was getting into, and I know my boundaries.)
Anyway, when I got to the lady's house, she took me over to where the snake was, and she said, "There it is." I said, "Uh, I don't see it." After about 10 seconds I finally could see the outline of the snake. It was curled up in the leaves, and the camoflauge was so good I was stunned. After 10 minutes of planning in my head, I was able to get the snake (it was decent sized, about 2 1/2 to 3 ft. long) in the tongs and into the sterilite container. Again, these snakes demand respect, it's NO JOKING MATTER. If you get too close and the snake decides to strike, you will get tagged. As far as being "dangerous", they are very non-aggressive and unwilling to bite unless really bothered. It did strike a few times after it was secured in the container, and the speed at which it did so was incredible.
To top it all off, despite the healthy distance I gave to him, I was able to get some pretty good pics! After the picture session, I drove it to an isolated wooded area and released him.
What a thrill, hope you enjoy the pics. This is a stunningly beautiful snake, imo. The eyes were incredible looking. They were a shiny copper color. Oh, and he did leave me a nice (smelly) momento in the Sterilite as a "Thank you" for saving him.
Thanks,
Ed
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 Agkistrodon contortrix rescue/release!!! - natsamjosh, Sun Aug 17 17:42:12 2008
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