You Know You're Really Intruding On My Personal Space, Don’t You?

August 4^th, 2012. We encountered this Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) as we were driving out of the Oconee National Forest late in the afternoon. We saw it from a distance and could see by its markings that it was a timber rattler. A fat, happy timber rattler. We hopped out and walked up to it. Unlike the Timber rattler we encountered last year that

We were driving down the road looking for wildflowers and we almost ran over it. W saw it just in time and by the time he stopped, we were close enough to it that I couldn’t see it. I didn’t know why he’d stopped. But when I did, I clambered out to negotiate a photo shoot.

It was minding its own business – making its way across the road.

*****

 A closer views

'You Know You're Really Intruding On My Personal Space, Don’t You? I’d really rather you left.'

It rattled fairly vociferously when we stepped too close and stopped immediately when we stepped back one pace. 

A different view of its head that shows the ‘viper-shapped’ head clearly.

A closer view of the pattern on its back

And the rattles on its tail. This snake had twice as many rattles as the snake we saw in Hancock County last year

It remained in the same position while we walked around it taking photographs. It didn’t coil into a defensive pose like the snake last year.

We won’t leave a snake on the roadway - it's a variation on moving a turtle off the road. We prodded it gently in the hope it would leave.

*****

 It recoiled suddenly and then threw itself forward and at a slight angle away from us, and then…

 *****

moved with surprising speed and agility across the road, and...

up the embankment on the other side and then angled sharply off to the right. When it reached the edge of the woods, it...

 coiled up in a defensive posture, tense, but not showing any signs of striking. 

It was testing the air with its tongue and would rattle if we got to close. I’m sure that could have changed quickly if it had felt the need.

A final shot. It’s head is on the right and its rattles are visible on the left.

We walked the few yards back to the truck and by the time we’d started to move, the snake had disappeared into the woods. Yet another example that the Timber Rattlesnake is not aggressive and just wants to get on with its life.

We'd been commenting that we hadn’t seen a Timber Rattlesnake this year and we were glad to see such a healthy one. It does serve as reminder though not to walk carelessly in grassy areas without being on the lookout for snakes. Don’t depend on the snake to rattle before you get too close. This snake wasn’t at all eager to rattle. So by the time you hear the rattle, it might be too late.

We tend to only walk in areas where we can clearly see the ground not only in front but also to the side of where we are walking. If we have to walk through thicker grass/brush, we use a snake hook to sweep the area in front and to the side, and tap on fallen logs or rocks under which snakes might be lying in wait for an unsuspecting mouse. I learned these lessons early, growing up in Australia, and they’re lessons well learned and never forgotten and, hopefully, they’ll continue to keep me out of trouble.

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Identification resource:

University of Georgia: Savannah River Ecology Laboratory: Canebrake / Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) – Venomous

Related post:

- Close Encounter Of The Crotalus Kind

Close Encounter Of The Gentle Kind

With a Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta): that is. I like Black Rat Snakes. This is the fourth I’ve encountered this year. I think I’m starting to understand them and I like them.

We were driving down a road in Hancock County, Georgia, when W swerved, hit the breaks, whipped he truck into reverse can backed down the road. It was less than a mile from where we encountered the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) in July. In this case, I didn’t hesitate to hop out and walk up to it – slowly so as not to upset it more than it probably already was. But, it wasn’t like walking up to the rattlesnake. It was like approaching an old friend. If I picked up snakes, I would have picked this one up without hestitation.

*****

*****

It had started out onto the road as we came by. We hadn’t hit it. By the time we backed up, it was in its classic ‘crinkle’ pose.

A closer view of its head

And, for some reason, I took a shot of its tail; it was just stretched out

After a while, the tell-tale tongue flick. I’d seen that at Fort Yargo State Park when I encountered one on the trail late one afternoon. The sign that it was thinking about leaving. Testing the air to see if it was safe to turn and leave. What do they detect - or not detect - that tells them it's safe to leave?

Then it turned to leave

Interestingly, it ‘pulled’ its tail up as it started to move off. I’d never noticed that before.

And off it went. Safely back into the brush.

It seemed as if we had been photographing it for a long time, but when I looked at the time-stamp on the images, the entire encounter had lasted a total of just four minutes.
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Identification resource:
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Herpetology Program: Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta; formerly Elaphe obsoleta)

Related posts:
- OK, Now I’m Getting A Complex: Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsolete) At Home
- Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta): Broad River Wildlife Management Area, Wilkes County, Georgia
- Black Rat Snake: Another Close Encounter
- And There It Was… Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta)

Close Encounter Of The Crotalus Kind

Crotalus horridus, that is; the Timber or Canebreak Rattlesnake. Let me hasten to say it was an encounter of the elective kind. The chosen kind. The nice kind.

We were driving down the road looking for wildflowers and we almost ran over it. W saw it just in time and by the time he stopped, we were close enough to it that I couldn’t see it. I didn’t know why he’d stopped. But when I did, I clambered out to negotiate a photo shoot.

It was minding its own business – making its way across the road.

The sight of a big creature looming above it made it nervous and it stopped,

A closer view of the head. If the color pattern wasn’t a dead give-away, the characteristic pit viper-shaped head says ‘venomous.”

It started to rattle fairly vociferously. This was the first time in four encounters with Timber Rattlesnakes that I’ve really heard one rattle. Obviously I’d entered its personal space. When I stepped back a pace or so, it stopped rattling. (Interestingly, other snakes vibrate the tips of their tails; they just don’t have the rattles.)

It coiled up in a defensive posture, tense, but not showing any signs of striking. I’m sure that could have changed quickly if it had felt the need. Happily it didn’t.

Another close look at the handsome head with the fierce-looking eyes.

After a few minutes, it tested the idea that it might be safe to leave. We had no interest in interfering with it any further.

And off back into the brush at the side of the road.

If anything, this last shot is the scariest to me. I keep thinking of encountering this snake in thick grass or brush. It can be hard to determine the location of a rattling snake that you can’t see. And it’s possible to step on one before it rattles if you surprise it. So….

We tend to only walk in areas where we can clearly see the ground not only in front but also to the side of where we are walking. If we have to walk through thicker grass/brush, we use a snake hook to sweep the area in front and to the side, and tap on fallen logs or rocks under which snakes might be lying in wait for an unsuspecting mouse. I learned these lessons early, growing up in Australia, and they’re lessons well learned and never forgotten and, hopefully, they’ll keep me out of trouble.
Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resource:
- University of Georgia: Savannah River Ecology Laboratory: Canebrake / Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) – Venomous

OK, Now I’m Getting A Complex: Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsolete) At Home

OK, now I’m getting a complex. I had a secret hope that I’d see and photograph more snakes this year. But two in the space of two days is overdoing it. At least they’re Black Rat Snakes.

I was driving home yesterday afternoon and saw a snake extended across the opposite lane. It was a young snake compared with the one we saw on Saturday. It was in ‘crinkle’ pose – frozen into a series of kinks – probably in response to me driving up. As I passed it, I couldn’t tell if it was alive but, as I was deciding whether to back up, it started to move off. I backed up quickly and pulled forward between it and the embankment it was going to have to climb to reach the woods.

I jumped out and found a stick to encourage it to stop. It coiled up into a tight ball. That gave me time to re-park the car off the road, grab my camera, run back to get at least one photograph, run back to the car to turn off the headlights and run back to take more photographs.

It had curled up into a tight ball in response to being asked to stick around for some photographs. I couldn’t see its head.

A closer view. If you enlarge this photograph you can see its head sticking out from under the coils on the right. I didn’t see its head until I enlarged the image tonight.

I rolled the ball over, suspecting that its head was protected under the coils of its body. It’s interesting to compare the defensive response of this young snake to coil up into a ball compared with the big snake that assumed a strike pose.

After a while it started to move off cautiously

A little further

Almost completely uncoiled and heading up the embankment. It was a beautiful young healthy snake. About 3 feet long and slender, only about a third of the diameter of the snake we saw last Saturday.

Almost to the top

Heading over the top and off into the woods. There’s a subdivision on the other side of the woods. I hope it stayed clear of the houses. It’s more likely to be killed by folk who think that the only good snake is a dead snake. It deserves to live a long life.
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Identification resource:
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Herpetology Program: Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta)

Related posts:
- Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta): Broad River Wildlife Management Area, Wilkes County, Georgia
- Black Rat Snake: Another Close Encounter
- And There It Was… Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta)

Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta): Broad River Wildlife Management Area, Wilkes County, Georgia

We visit the Broad River Wildlife Management Area in Wilkes County, Georgia fairly regularly. A couple of trails are reputed to drop from the end of the roads in the WMA down to the Broad River. We decided to check out the trail from the end of C. Johnson Road last Saturday.

I was standing at the trail head when I remembered that, since this trail goes through brush, I’d like to have a snake hook along just to beat the bushes and logs before I stepped over them. W had just about reached the trail head with the snake hook so I turned to start down the trail. I have to confess I wasn’t paying particular attention; it was the head of the trail after all. Nothing happens at the trail head.

After a step or so, I gasped – I think my heart missed a beat or two - and came to a sudden stop. It took a few seconds for my brain to process what I was looking at, only a few steps in front of me.

The biggest Black Rat Snake we’ve ever seen. It stretched across the trail. W estimated to it be about 5 feet long and it was well fed; a really healthy snake. I’ve had a little experience with Black Rat Snakes so I gently stroked its tail with the snake hook.

It turned partly to confront the threat. Isn’t it beautiful?
(It strikes me that it reacted much like I would have if someone sneaked up behind me and touched me unexpectedly. I’d wheel around to see if I was being threatened in some way too.)

A view from one side and…

The other.

A close view. It’s flicking its tongue and the color pattern on the scales on its underside are clearly visible.

Another close view. The white eye is due to reflection of the flash light; the eyes were clear in natural light.

I must confess that the encounter left me a little jittery for the rest of the hike.
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Identification resource:
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Herpetology Program: Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta; formerly Elaphe obsoleta)

Related posts:
- And There It Was… Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta)
- Black Rat Snake: Another Close Encounter

Black Rat Snake: Another Close Encounter

We live in the country. So occasionally snakes turn up at the house; often near the ramp to the front door. We find Ring-neck snakes (Diadophis punctatus), Black Rat Snakes (Pantherophis obsoleta), Eastern Kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getula) or Rough Green snakes (Opheodrys aestivus). Although the cats are fascinated by snakes, none of them is a ‘snaker.’ Three of our cats once sat in a circle watching an Eastern Kingsnake and not knowing what to do.

Usually snakes don’t come into the house. But last summer during the drought, some rodents, probably desperate for food, invited themselves in. An enterprising Black Rat snake invited itself in, apparently to hunt the rodents. Fortunately, I wasn’t home when the snake was discovered. It was uninvited and relocated to the edge of the woods a little way from the house. Not satisfied with its new location, it made its way back to the house and was found in the house again a day or so later. On this occasion, I was home and got some photos of it in the container used to relocate it a good quarter mile down the drive. And that was that…

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I thought I heard a couple of rodent traps being sprung and some clattering in the pantry. The sounds were ‘soft’ and I figured I’d mistaken the sound and that one of the cats was playing with a toy and causing the occasional clattering. Finally, when the sounds continued, I went to scold the cat and send it on its way only to find none in sight. I got a flashlight and shone it into the pantry. At first I couldn’t see anything and then I saw black scaly coils. I couldn’t believe it at first but a closer look confirmed that it was a snake – probably a Black Rat snake.

I don’t mess with snakes. So I got W who does mess with snakes when necessary. I got my camera while he got the plastic bucket and snake tongs. I got back first and got…

Evidence. Just in case I didn’t get another chance. No telling what would happen next. (If you enlarge the photo and know what you're look for, you can just make out a trap attached to the snakes tail.)

W got the snake into the bucket and disengaged not one but two rat traps from its tail. That explained the clattering. The snake had been trying to dislocate the traps and hitting other items in the pantry with them.

In the bucket. Its 4-5 feet long.

We walked it down the drive and decided to let it go where it would have only a short journey over to the woods on the other side of the fence. It wasn’t eager to leave the bucket and we had to tip it out gently. It didn’t panic but slowly slid away from us towards the woods.

Just starting to leave.

Closer view of its head just as it slides under the fence.

Farewell…

Postscripts.
The next morning, I grabbed a bag of dry cat food from the top of the refrigerator to fill the cat bowl. Coincidentally, I grabbed a banana at the same time. Although my mind was processing that this was a banana and not a snake, I dropped it like a hot potato.
This week workers installing a new heat pump under the house found a 3-foot Black Rat snake.
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Identification resource
- Snakes of Georgia and South Carolina: Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis [Elaphe] obsoleta)

Related post:
And There It Was… Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoleta)