Quote:
Originally Posted by tubemonkey
This video is kinda funny 
[YOUTUBE] |
That's the first I recall hearing of cottonmouths eating other cottonmouths, but I can vouch for everything else the cowboy said. Their reputation for aggression is definitely overblown.
One thing everyone knows that just ain't so about water moccasins is that they will drop into your boat from overhanging branches. Well, there are some local non-venomous snakes that do that, but as the cowboy in the video pointed out, water moccasins don't like to climb; they're much more at home on terra firma. Those snakes that do drop into in on you unexpectedly aren't trying to get into your boat; it's just that you've made them nervous by coming too close to their hangout and their natural defense in such situations is to drop into the water. Unfortunately if your boat is between them and the water they'll end up in your boat instead. I heard the following story from a local park ranger. Two of Norfolk's finest were passing under some branches in a small boat one day when a snake dropped into their boat. Fearing for their lives, the two officers grabbed their guns and blasted the poor thing into serpent heaven. Too late they realized they had also just sunk their boat.