MUSINGS: Goodness Snakes

~by Mark Blackwell

Late spring has come to Brown County. The rain has abated. The weather is noticeably warmer. The leaves are out, and so are the snakes. According to the people who keep track of these sorts of things, there are eleven types of snakes in Brown County. Twelve if you count the guy who sold me a map to his secret hidden mushroom patch.

The snakes that a person might encounter hereabouts include both the harmless and beneficial variety, and a couple that you might want to shy away from. In that way, snakes are kinda like people, because there are more of the harmless to beneficial types than there are the ones that can cause you some serious discomfort or even have you “knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door.”

While a lot of folks are pretty phobic about serpents, I, myself, have never cared to know them well enough to hate ’em. So, I have adopted the attitude of “they were here first.” And, since I am smart enough to acknowledge my ignorance when it comes to the importance of their part in the ecosystem, I just try to enjoy our brief encounters when they occur.

This last part is significant in that most snakes are not aggressive. They prefer to keep to themselves, minding their serpentine business and hoping to avoid human interactions. They like feeding and basking; those are the situations when you’re most likely to come across one. Also, they are generally crepuscular, which means they are more active in the evening after a luxurious afternoon in the sun.

Most of the snakes are fairly dull, both in color and personality, although they do have a serious genius for camouflage. They tend to disappear into their surroundings. In fact, there’s a good chance that while you are enjoying your picnic in the park there is an undetected snake within twenty feet or so just biding their time, waiting for you to leave.

I was surprised by the list of snakes that inhabit Brown County because, out of the eleven listed, there are five that I can’t remember ever having seen; the eastern worm snake, the redbelly (looks more brown than red in the pictures I’ve seen), the rough green snake, the ringneck, and the northern water snake. All of those are non-venomous.

The snakes that I have had encounters with are; the common garter snake and the eastern milk (both harmless), the timber rattlesnake and the ubiquitous copperhead (both of which are dangerous), and the black racer (which, while technically harmless, could give you a heart attack, because, they will actually chase you).

The snakes that a person really needs to keep a sharp eye out for are copperheads. They are just about everywhere in the county and they don’t behave like other snakes. Most snakes will avoid human encounters. They will stay hidden or they will just slither away. Copperheads, though, are very defensive and will attack. Their bite is very rarely fatal but always painful.

And then there is our other venomous reptile, the timber rattlesnake. The main difference, between copperheads and rattlesnakes is that rattlers are fairly docile. They only get aggressive when threatened. And they will let you know that they feel threatened by vigorously shaking their tail, making a relatively loud noise. If that fails to warn off the threat, then they will coil themselves up to strike. When that happens it’s time to back-pedal. While your chances are slim for coming across a copperhead and slimmer yet for a rattlesnake encounter, it is a good idea to leave your sandals and flip-flops back in camp and wear boots when hiking back country trails.

I am not terribly enthusiastic about our little footless friends and do not seek to involve myself with them unduly, but I will confess to having been charmed by the eastern milk snake. I find them very attractive in their own way. Unlike their camouflaged cousins, they are easy to spot, being colorful, with red, black and yellow bands. But, given their similar colors and banding, they are sometimes confused with the venomous coral snake (which, I am happy to report, does not reside in Indiana).

However, coral snakes do reside in Florida, along with a host of other deadly reptiles. While Brown County has two venomous snake species, Florida has twelve that can do you bodily harm. They have five different rattlesnakes, two kinds of coral snakes, and two kinds of copperheads. I have even heard that they have a snake that will squeeze you to death while it eats you alive.

Where I was going with all that was that it might be safer to vacation in Brown County than in Florida when it comes to dangerous snakes.

Our area is a garden of sylvan delights, and like that fabled garden back in the beginning, we too have our serpents.