In one of herpetologist Dr. Bruce Means’ books – I forget
which one – he details how he deciphered what actually occurs when it appears
that a water moccasin, or cottonmouth (Agkistrodon
piscivorous), attacks a person on shore. It is too longish a little story
to place within a Facebook reply, so
I am going to paraphrase it here for ready reference. Obviously, you should
read Bruce’s books rather than rely on this or any other second-hand account of
his adventures, not just to keep the facts straight but also because his books
are fascinating!
While walking along the edge of a lake one day, a cottonmouth
suddenly came downhill straight toward Bruce moving about as fast as a fat serpent
can go! Startled, Means jumped back and watched as the snake dove
into the water and disappeared. Whew! THAT was a close call! But Bruce had beaucoup experience with snakes in
general and water moccasins in particular, so the appearance of an attack didn’t
wash. Giving the situation some thought, he concluded that the snake was
actually just trying to escape but that he was inadvertently blocking the route
to its refuge. Hmmm… How to test this?
Ahah! He got it! He began wearing snake boots – just to
be safe about it! – as he took his walks around the lake, and being also intellectually
armed for the next encounter, he sacrificed his body as bait to test his
hypothesis in the finest tradition of inquiring minds. Sure enough, the same
thing happened on another day, but this time he was scientifically prepared if
not emotionally detached, and this is what he saw on this second rodeo:
The cottonmouth suddenly found a giant predator
(Bruce) standing directly on top of its well-worn path leading from its comfy sunning
spot to its aquatic habitat. Panic set in! Desperately, the snake launched
itself toward safety, blundering right between Means’ legs. Paying no mind to
the giant’s snake-booted limbs, it continued pell-mell into the water and had its
escape. “Whew! The giant didn’t get me THAT time!”
