DAILY WORLD (Opelousas, Louisiana) 30 July 08 Snakes are part of the heat of the summer (Chris Berzas)
Summer is a time for enjoying the outdoors despite the torrid pestilence of the present heat wave in Acadiana.
Some folks are fishing in our bayous, lakes and reservoirs, whereas others are busy enjoying our coastal wildlife resources. More than just a few are also in the woods preparing their camps and lands for hunting season - as the dove season is just a little more than a month away.
And it's during these times that people pursuing outdoor activities come into contact with probably the most dreaded of animals in the woods.
In most surveys of youth undertaken during hunter education classes in the summer, youngsters will decry a "snake" as the most dangerous animal in Louisiana.
And snakes also enjoy the present heat as they are out and about all summer long after a sort of listless period of inactivity during Louisiana's cooler months of late fall and winter.
In September and October of 2007, two hunters were bitten by snakes in Louisiana - one visiting a camp in southwest Louisiana and the other during opening weekend of squirrel season at Thistlethwaite Wildlife Management Area north of Washington.
Jeff Boundy, a biologist headquartered in Baton Rouge, is reptile study leader with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. He has some herpetological facts and statistics regarding snake-human interaction in Louisiana's woods and waters.
As far as public and private lands in St. Landry and Evangeline Parishes, Boundy said hunters can expect to see venomous snakes such as "cottonmouths anywhere, and copperheads, canebrake (timber) rattlesnakes and pygmy rattlers in forests. Coral snakes can be found in upland forests in Evangeline Parish." Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes can also be found in the eastern Florida Parishes of the state. Sea snakes are very rare in the Gulf of Mexico.
The biologist did admit that he hasn't been able to verify the snakebite count in Louisiana.
"Based on the number reported to me, there are probably not more than 50 bites per year - discounting bites to people who keep venomous snakes as pets," said Boundy.
"In reports I've been able to verify, probably four bites out of ten are from harmless snakes," added the biologist. "I've even had emergency room doctors misidentify snakes."
Boundy did confirm that upon snakebite, the snake could be killed for proper identification with some exceptions.
"It would help for identification except for two things - the "expert" who identifies the snake may misidentify the snake, and killing the snake increases the chance of another bite," said Boundy. "A digital photo would probably work just as well."
Regarding the strength of the toxins coming from the diversity of snakes mentioned above, Boundy remarked that the pit vipers tend to have hemorrhagic venom (blood tissue destruction).
"That of the copperhead is relatively weak, and almost never fatal even without treatment," explained the biologist.
"Cottonmouths and pygmy rattlers have more potent venom, although the pygmies may not inject much," he said. "Canebrake rattlers are dangerous because their venom has a significant amount of neurotoxins as well.
"Coral snake venom is neurotoxic, and tends to show little outward effects, but will shut down the central nervous system."
Regarding actual human fatalities, Boundy is certain that actual death from snakebite has fallen over the years.
"The old data (1950s) had a bite rate of about one per 10,000 people in Louisiana," explained Boundy. "I don't know what the fatality rate was, but I'm certain that the rate has declined as proper medical care is easier to access."
Regarding snakebite, Boundy advises anyone bitten to proceed to the nearest hospital.
"I would also advise them to call the hospital before arriving there so they can be ready to treat you," said the biologist.
Boundy mentioned that the two hunters who were treated for venomous snakebites last fall were very fortunate as not all hospitals in Louisiana have antivenin on supply. Therefore it would be wise to call the hospital prior to an arrival.
Snakebites are rare, and Boundy agrees that even venomous snakes hold a beneficial role wherever they occur in Louisiana.
"Snakes are beneficial as mid-level predators," emphasized the biologist. "They occupy a niche in the wild in maintaining a balance in prey species, as well as being important food items for other predators.
"As an example, water snakes in a cypress lake assist in fish population health by eating the ones easiest to catch (the sick or diseased), and water snakes are an important food for wading birds around rookeries. Some species are good at thinning agricultural pests such as rodents around feed and granary operations."
As for protection needed from snakebite, Boundy advises that people watch where hands and feet are placed wherever they are in the summer and early fall.
"I just wear ankle high boots, but it wouldn't hurt to have protection higher up, especially in the dense palmettos," said Boundy. "Most of the snakes encountered in larger water bodies are harmless water snakes."
Snakes are part of the heat of the summer