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News Headline |
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Alamance County only has one native species of venomous snake: the Copperhead.
Copperhead
The Copperhead is the most common venomous snake encountered in North Carolina. Although copperheads are generally not aggressive, they have very good camouflage and can easily be stepped on by accident. Most copperhead bites occur, however, when people try to handle or kill a copperhead. If you see a copperhead, the best thing to do is slowly back away. Copperhead bites, although extremely painful are not considered lethal.
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Copperhead
aka Agkistrodon contortrix |
| Copperheads range from 2-3 ft. in length and they are covered in hourglass-shaped crossbands. Copperheads are found state-wide in forests and fields. Copperheads feed on mice, small birds, small snakes, insects, and amphibians. Copperheads usually hunt during the day but often move at night and are often encountered while crossing roads. |
There are, however, a few other species of venomous snakes found across North Carolina that you may want to be aware of if you're visiting those areas.
Cottonmouth
Cottonmouths are dangerous (their bite can be fatal) and they should be left alone. Cottonmouths have been described as "cowards, then bluffers, then warriors." When encountered, cottonmouths generally flee or employ a variety of scare tactics (such as mouth-gaping, musking, and tail rattling) but will not hesitate to bite when pressed, and may also move towards an attacker in an attempt to frighten the attacker into running away.
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Cottonmouth
aka Agkistrodon piscivorus |
Cottonmouths are large snakes that range between 2 1/2 and 4 ft. In North Carolina, Cottonmouths range only in the Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont. Snakes seen in water in the Mountains and most of the Piedmont are generally harmless watersnakes. Cottonmouths prefer marshes, swamps, slow rivers, and most other aquatic environments. Cottonmouths will eat almost anything they can catch: amphibians, fish, snakes, lizards, and even birds. Cottonmouths closely resemble many of the harmless water snakes in teh state, but they behave differently when confronted. Cottonmouths are likely to stand their ground while opening their mouth and exposing the light lining of their mouth, while watersnakes generally flee. Telling Cottonmouths from watersnakes can be difficult so it is best to leave all water snakes alone.
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Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake - ENDANGERED
The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake is often considered the most dangerous snake in North America. Their large size and potent venom make a bite from a Diamondback a very serious and potentially deadly injury. Luckily, Diamondbacks are generally reluctant to bite and usually rattle loudly to warn off intruders. As most snakebites occur when people try to capture or kill snakes, the best reaction if you see a Diamondback is to slowly back off and leave the snake alone.
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Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
aka Crotalus adamanteus |
The Eastern Diamondback is the largest species of rattlesnake in the world. It is a heavy-bodied snake that reaches lengths of 3 to 7 feet. The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake has a large rattle on the tip of its tail that makes a loud buzzing when the snake feels threatened. Eastern Diamondbacks are a southern species and only occur in the southeastern coastal plain of North Carolina. They inhabit pine flatwoods, abandoned farmland, and sandy woodlands and are often found on barrier islands. Diamondbacks eat rabbits, squirrels, rats and other rodents.
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake populations in North Carolina have been reduced greatly by habitat destruction, being run over on roads, and intentional killing by people. They are now quite rare in the state. This snake's survival in the Carolinas is dependent on the preservation of large tracts of undeveloped forest and the cesation of intentional killing of snakes. Diamondbacks are top predators that play important roles in food chains of many ecosystems. Additionally, the Eastern Diamondback is a beautiful and impressive animal that is as much a part of the Carolina coastal plain as grizzly bears are to Yellowstone National Park.
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Timber Rattlesnake - SPECIES OF SPECIAL CONCERN
Timber Rattlesnakes are large venemous snakes whose bites can be fatal. Fortunatly, Timber Rattlesnakes are generally not aggressive and are often reluctant to even rattle. If you encounter this snake you should back away and leave it alone.
Timber Rattlesnakes range in size between 3 and 5 ft. with males being larger than females. The Timber Rattlesnake used to be divided into two distinct subspecies (the "Timber Rattler" and the "Canebrake Rattler", but is now considered a single species of snake:
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"Timber" Rattlesnake
aka Crotalus Horridus Horridus |
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"Canebrake" Rattlesnake
aka Crotalus Horridus Atricaudatus
Photo Courtesy of John Willson |
Timber Rattlesnakes inhabit forest, nearby fields, swampy areas, and thickets in the Appalachians, upper Piedmont, and Coastal regions of the state. It's range has been reduced in the middle of the state and its numbers have also decreased in many other areas. Much of this decline can be attributed to loss of habitat. Contributing to this decline is the low reproductive rate of female Timber Rattlesnakes. Timber Rattlesnakes eat primarily rodents but they may also eat birds.
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Eastern Coral Snake - ENDANGERED
This snake is the only representative of the family Elapidae in North Carolina. Included in this family are other notorious snakes such as the cobras, mambas, taipans, and sea snakes. The Coral Snake's neurotoxic venom makes it a very dangerous snake. Its teeth are usually unable to penetrate through thick materials such as jeans so people are rarely bitten by these snakes. However, this snake's bite can be lethal and it should not be handled.
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Eastern Coral Snake
aka Micrurus fulvius |
| Coral Snakes range between 2-4 ft. in length. It is encircled by wide red and black bands with a yellow stripe between these bands. The snout is blunt and its head is covered with a black band. Several non-venomous snakes mimic the Coral Snake. It can be distinguished from these other snakes by the fact that its red band is directly against the yellow stripe. No other snake in North America resembling the Coral Snake has a red band located directly next to a yellow stripe. Small populations of this species inhabit the southern Coastal Plain. The Eastern Coral Snake eats small snakes and lizards. |
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