The cottonmouth challenge
Let’s go herpin’
USA
For me, there’s no such thing as a non-herping holiday. Every business trip, holiday and getaway break will inevitably include some time spent in the local undergrowth or visiting a zoo or private collection. My sister’s springtime wedding in North Carolina offered the perfect opportunity to look for one of the most elusive snakes on my ‘most wanted’ list – the venomous cottonmouth.
by Tony Wigley
Despite being a relatively common snake, I had never been up close and personal with one of these beautiful and menacing creatures, and I was eager to see them in the wild firsthand.
Before flying out to the States I contacted local herper Brandon Fulton, who agreed to guide me around the area and promised to show me where to look for some of the animals on my most-wanted list. I was particularly encouraged by one message which read:
‘I can’t guarantee any particular species but I am confident we’ll see some of the animals on your list, plus a handful of other species too. This should give you some idea of your odds:
‘eastern cottonmouth – almost certain
southern copperhead – here and there
timber rattlesnake – reasonably rare
pygmy rattlesnake – reasonably rare
eastern kingsnake – quite common
scarlet kingsnake – here and there
corn snake – quite common
rough green snake – quite common
black racer – almost certain
water snake – almost certain.’
Needless to say, I had a good feeling about the trip.
Southern toad (Anaxyrus terrestris)
Credit: Tony Wigley
Species profile
DAY ONE
The Croatan Forest, North Carolina
Early spring is a good time to look for wild herps in most parts of the world and Brandon assured me that we’d have some luck, despite my very short window of opportunity. After the wedding celebrations were over I would have only two days to find my cottonmouth before heading back to the airport. By the time we met Brandon the clock was already ticking really loudly.
North Carolina’s Croatan Forest is an enormous woodland, covering almost 650 square kilometres and home to a staggering variety of flora and fauna. The forest is prohibitively dense and access beyond the network of paths and trails is exceedingly hard work. Thankfully Brandon assured us that searching for reptiles on and around the roads and creeks would be most fruitful and this proved accurate within a few minutes of our arrival.
‘Stop the car!’ he announced, exiting the vehicle before it came to a halt. Hurrying to follow I heard the distinctive PLOP noise a turtle makes as it hops into the water. ‘Spotted turtle’ he said, obviously annoyed. ‘She was a big ‘un too!’ Our disappointment soon faded as Brandon waded into a roadside pond, appearing seconds later clutching a common snapping turtle in each hand.
As anyone who has held them will tell you, the handling of snapping turtles must be executed with great care. Their astonishingly long necks can extend almost as far as their back legs and a large specimen has a bite so strong it can remove fingers. Although these two were smaller, I was still cautious.
Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)
Searching along the edge of the creek we saw a selection of brown water snakes, all seemingly out of reach on branches or logs overhanging the water. Undeterred, Brandon waded slowly and quietly into the slimy, muddy water as I walked precariously along a fallen log, each headed towards a sleeping water snake. Water snakes are notorious teases, waiting until you are inches away before sliding silently into the water and out of reach. It wasn’t long before I heard Brandon swear and head back to dry land.
Standing there dripping and covered in creek slime, Brandon watched as I inched along the log towards my quarry, struggling past the branches sticking upright in my path. I was sure the snake would feel vibrations as twigs snapped beneath my feet, but as I neared, the snake stayed put until my hand shot out to grab it. Readers should be glad that these pictures are not ‘scratch and sniff’ given the malodorous stench this snake gave off.
Brown water snake (Nerodia taxispilota)
Cottonmouths can often be found at the water’s edge and we concentrated our searches to this type of habitat, revisiting the sites where Brandon had seen these snakes in the past. We would spend an hour or so at each river pond or creek, scanning the banks for the dull coils of a cottonmouth, while keeping a watchful eye out for other herp species.
Cricket frogs and five-lined skinks were common, while sliders and terrapins of numerous varieties would taunt us by diving into the water before we were close enough even to photograph them, let alone get our hands on one.
Carpenter frogs could be found by following their calls which sounded distinctly like a piece of wood being struck with a hammer – thus their rather apt common name.
Each creek we searched yielded a collection of herps, with each stop adding at least one new species to our list.
No cottonmouth today
The roads in between each new venue offered their own harvest of animals and we would often stop to explore an interesting habitat. By the end of the first day we had compiled an impressive headcount comprising a decent variety of species, eastern ribbon snakes, southern toads and even a rare rough earth snake, but the cottonmouth we were searching for had, frustratingly, eluded us.
Brandon was particularly keen to find a ‘snot otter’, which turned out to be a colloquial name for a hellbender salamander, a giant amphibian which can grow to be 40cm and weigh up to 2.5kg. Unfortunately, the snot otters eluded us for the whole trip, although we did see several of the mammalian versions at different creeks and rivers.
Five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus)
DAY TWO
Day two started early as we were keen to maximise our chances. ‘Today we’ll find you a cottonmouth for sure,’ said Brandon, determinedly confident, ‘because today we’re going to Cottonmouth Creek!’ he announced.
I wondered why we hadn’t gone there yesterday.
The drive to Cottonmouth Creek took us around the edge of the Croatan Forest before a sharp turn onto a dust and gravel track aimed us deep into its heart. I had long since given up on scanning the road for reptiles as Brandon’s keen eye was far more effective than my own, and it wasn’t long before he called me to ‘STOP!’
As he headed back the way we had come I could not see what had caught his eye and was almost next to him before I spotted the rough green snake. It sat motionless at the side of the road, swaying like foliage – an interesting behaviour that these snakes often display. It proved a very willing photographic model and we spent some time watching it weave gracefully through the roadside bushes.
Corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) Credit: Tony Wigley
Road cruising
Road cruising is an effective method for reptile spotters given the mileage one can cover. Contrasted against the road surface, reptiles are more easily spotted than if they are cryptically hidden in their natural habitat.
Unfortunately, any debris on the road is easily mistaken for a reptile by the avid herper and I would often hit the brake to stop for the frustratingly frequent ‘stick snake’ and the commonly endemic ‘pine cone turtle’. Indeed I was well past it before I realised that the pine cone I’d just seen was in fact an eastern box turtle. We reversed up the track to find it ambling lazily across the road.
I was busy taking box turtle pictures when Brandon came back clutching something between his cupped palms. He opened them to reveal a beautiful young corn snake, probably a few feeds along from this year’s hatchlings. I remembered back fondly to when Carolina corn snakes were considered significantly pretty enough to command a premium in UK pet shops. The box turtle was long gone by the time we’d finished snapping pictures of the corn.
Cottonmouth Creek was deserted. We spent a few hours exploring the dense vegetation along the banks, staring intently at the patches of sunlight that illuminated a log, hoping to see our elusive quarry. But nothing. Nada. Zilch. Beyond a couple of interesting salamanders and frogs, our searching yielded nothing and soon we were back in the car heading homeward.
Time was running out and I was beginning to resign myself to not finding a cottonmouth. We stopped along the way to turn some pieces of corrugated tin placed by the local government wildlife department and found a large and aggressive black racer, which bit Brandon’s hand repeatedly and enthusiastically.
Success!
‘There’s one more place we can try before you head home,’ he said when we replaced the racer under the tin. ‘I’ve occasionally seen cottonmouths there before so you never know.’ We had nothing to lose and the countdown clock was ticking. The venue was a small elongated pond, no bigger than the footprint of a lorry. Brandon made busy searching as I closed the car. That’s when I heard him whoop! By the time I reached him I could see we’d hit the jackpot – there on the end of his hook was a fat, female cottonmouth, gaping her white mouth beautifully and staring intently straight at me. Brandon and I grinned at each other before taking it in turns to photograph this beautiful snake.
Finding a cottonmouth at the eleventh hour seems like a fairytale story especially created for a magazine article like this, but I swear, that’s how it happened. Brandon was as pleased and excited as I was and, as we drove back to civilisation, we almost missed the large adult corn snake as it slithered towards the undergrowth at the side of the road. We stopped, took photos and marvelled at its coiled defence posture before returning to the car to continue our cottonmouth euphoria.
By the time we were back on the highway I knew our reptile adventure was over – at least for now. But Brandon offered a new challenge that I couldn’t resist.
‘How ‘bout you come back and we find some rattlesnakes?’
‘How many rattler species are there in North Carolina?’ I asked.
‘Well, that depends...’ came the reply.
How could I say no?
Tony carefully hook handling an eastern cottonmouth snake
(Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus)
Credit: Tony Wigley
48 hours of herping in North Carolina’s Croatan Forest
10. Rough earth snake (Virginia striatula)
11. Eastern ribbon snake (Thamnophis sauritus sauritus)
12. Mabee’s salamander (Ambystoma mabeei)
13. Coastal pains cricket frog (Acris gryllus gryllus)
14. Southern dusky salamander (Desmognathus auriculatus)
15. Five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus)
16. Northern rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus aestivus)
17. Eastern cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus)
18. Northern green anole (Anolis carolinensis carolinensis)
1. Eastern snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina)
2. Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)
3. Yellow bellied slider (Trachemys scripta scripta)
4. Brown water snake (Nerodia taxispilota)
5. Southern toad (Anaxyrus terrestris)
6. Carpenter frog (Lithobates virgatipes)
7. Corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus guttatus)
8. Northern black racer (Coluber constrictor constrictor)
9. South eastern five-lined skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus)
Tony Wigley….
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