♪♪ -[ Laughs, stammers ] So this is a little American alligator.

It's not a crocodile.

Okay, here we go.

Here's a couple more.

In fact, one of them just flew.

♪♪ ♪♪ The Lowcountry is home to a surprising number of snake species.

The overwhelming majority of our snakes are completely harmless and non-venomous, but we do have some potentially dangerous species.

It's important to remember that even these species are critical to the ecology of our region.

Let's take a look at some of the venomous snakes species that live right here in the Lowcountry.

♪♪ So, we've moved inland a bit to one of my old stomping grounds -- the Savannah River Site -- and we were invited here by my good friend, Sean Poppy.

Sean, thanks for letting us come visit today.

-Happy to have you visit.

-So, Sean and I go way back.

So, we worked together for over a decade -- maybe longer than that, I guess... -Mm-hmm.

-...doing environmental education programs, field trips, teacher workshops, right here at this site.

And Sean actually runs, I think, one of the best environmental education programs anywhere in the state.

Sean, would you be willing to tell us a little bit about it?

-Yeah, so, our Ecologist For a Day program is designed to get groups of students out into the field using some of the same techniques that our researchers use at the Savannah River Ecology Lab, which is the research unit of the University of Georgia.

We are on the Savannah River Site, which is operated by the United States Department of Energy, and they're one of our major funding sources, which helps to provide this service free to the school groups that come out and visit.

-And, Sean, so, this is a really nice chunk of land.

It's like 65 acres or so.

Diversity of habitat.

So it's a great place to do that.

-Yep, great.

Like you said, a wide variety of habitats.

Lots of different types of species around here.

We're on the northern part of the Savannah River Site, so you don't even need a badge to get here.

-Yep, and I'll tell you what -- [ Laughs ] I mean, this is all great, but what I'm really excited about today is, we're here to look for a couple of snake species, and one in particular that's really hard to find.

So, what are we gonna do first?

-Let's go check a drift fence.

-It okay if we flip these?

-Oh, yeah.

Try it.

See what's underneath there.

-There's a skink.

-Got a skink.

-Yep, a little blue-tailed skink.

Eumeces.

-Yeah.

Most of the little ones we see around here are the southeastern five-lined.

-Yep.

♪♪ Sean, this fence has held up well.

How long ago did we build this thing?

-It's over 20 years ago.

-Man.

I noticed you have this protective thing on the top.

Keep people from cutting themselves on it, or something like that.

-The edge of the aluminum's very sharp.

We got a lot of kids that come through here.

-But the idea, of course, as you know, is just to funnel stuff in.

And they hit the fence.

They can't go under it, can't go over it, so they crawl along until they fall into a bucket.

-Yep.

-So, let's check some buckets.

I love drift fences because you never know what you're gonna find for sure.

-Yeah.

♪♪ -Okay, so, here's -- not a snake, but there's a coup-- Boy, there's several of them in here.

Wolf spiders, huh?

-Yeah.

We get a lot of those around.

-It looks like maybe a Carolina Wolf Spider.

And you're okay to hold it on the sponge, but they can bite.

-Yes.

-But anyway... -Here, I'm gonna let this go on the other side of the fence.

And so, we use these sponges in the bottom of each pitfall trap.

There's a little bit of moisture in it, so animals can get a drink if they need it.

But more importantly, in case we get a lot of rain -- -So they float, and it provides a little island.

-It'll float for them.

Yep, a little life raft.

-Well, cool.

Let's keep going.

I know that's your side, but I want to look in your buckets.

[ Laughs ] ♪♪ -Oh, look, Tony.

You've got a snake down here.

A Tantilla.

Let me see if I can get him out.

-These are neat little snakes.

And so, you see a lot of those here, don't you?

-Yeah, we mainly catch them in these drift fences, sometimes under a cover object.

-And this as big as they get, so this is not a baby snake.

-Nope, full-grown adult.

-It's adult.

And actually, what's cool about these is, they're actually technically venomous.

So, they eat centipedes, and they have venomous saliva that they use to subdue centipedes and other invertebrates that they eat.

-But it's still a little uneasy knowing that they're venomous, 'cause when you hold them in your hand, they'll burrow between -- -So, technically, you're handling a venomous snake.

But I tell you what I love best about Tantilla is, they're the food for the snake we're looking for.

So, we're calling this a Tantilla, but I guess the common name is southeastern crowned snake because of that ring around the neck right there and the black head.

Well, I'm gonna let him go on this -- He was on that side of the fence, so I'm gonna let him go over here.

♪♪ I'll check here.

♪♪ Sean, here's what we're after.

It's a coral snake!

This is why we came all the way here.

Wow, these things are just amazing.

Wow, that's a pretty one, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Sean, so, you caught two of these last week, right?

-Yes.

-And just right here.

-Yeah, one was moving on the surface.

The other one was underneath a cover object.

-Notice, I mean, I'm really keeping my hands back.

He's down here on the ground.

It looks like he may be right back in the bucket.

-Yeah.

-So, is this pretty typical in coloration and stuff to what you see here?

-Yeah, that's pretty much what we see around here.

-And I remember seeing a couple years and years ago.

And, you know, people don't catch coral snakes very often.

I mean, they're really, really -- They're either super secretive or rare or both.

-Yeah, underground a lot.

This is the time of the year when we see them.

-Yeah, April and October seem to be the months, right?

-Yeah.

-Or, at least, right here.

♪♪ -So, they have a neurotoxic venom.

From what I understand, if you get bit by one and it gets in your system, it'll start to paralyze different systems in the body.

-It's really, really scary, and you gotta handle these very carefully.

And that's why we're handling it on a hook and keeping our distance.

Because the bite from one can be very, very dangerous, and really different from the other pit vipers that we have that have hemotoxic venom that destroys blood and muscle tissue.

So, wow.

-Yep.

-But what a treat.

I mean, you just don't see these very often, and you've caught them in this drift fence on numerous occasions, right?

-In the defense, yep.

-It's a pitfall trap.

I remember, I found three that ended up in the same swimming pool.

And think of it -- A swimming pool's just a big pitfall trap.

And what had happened is, a female coral snake crawled into the pool, and two males, the next two days, they just were following her scent and went right in the pool, too.

-Yeah.

So, those bright colors, those should be a warning to stay back.

We've all heard "red next to yellow can kill a fellow."

But I actually had a second grader tell me, "Just think of a traffic light.

Red's next to yellow, so stop."

-That's a good way to tell.

The other thing is -- So, you have all three of the tricolored snakes here.

You have scarlet kings -- which are mimics of this -- scarlet snakes, and coral snakes.

So you have all three, and you've gotten probably all three in this defense.

-All three in this drift fence, yep.

-So, you really do have to know your colors [Laughs] if you're checking this drift fence, for sure.

-Yeah, and you keep saying all the rhymes over in your head before you reach in and try to get one out.

-As I always say, if you have to remember the rhyme, you probably shouldn't pick the snake up.

That's one way of looking at it.

-[ Laughs ] -So, these guys are snake-eaters.

-Yes.

-And so, you'd think they're probably eating Tantilla and southeastern crown snakes and scarlet snakes here.

-Scarlet king snakes, scarlet snakes, little red-bellied snakes.

He was real comfortable going down in that bucket.

He might be cruising up and down the fence trying to eat the stuff that we're catching.

-Well, the other thing is, very different build than a pit viper.

It's a long, skinny snake, and although the head's a little bigger than the neck, it's not that classic pit viper triangular head.

So, yeah, they don't look as dangerous, but potentially very dangerous if you handle it.

The good news about these is, they'd have trouble biting you unless you're picking it up and messing with it.

If you leave it alone, it's gonna leave you alone.

-Yep, it's gonna get out of your way.

-So, we've gotta get this guy out.

And do you want to take this one back to the lab to get any data from it?

-Someone might be interested in getting data from it.

-Okay, so, we need to catch him and put him in a bucket.

♪♪ Well, Sean, that was awesome.

I mean, a coral snake.

That is a tough one to catch.

The next one's a little bit easier, but we need to switch gears a little bit and go down the hill a little bit, don't we?

-Okay, yeah.

So, let's head down the drift fence and head down to the pond.

-Okay.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ I know that's a big step right there.

-Yes.

♪♪ Hey, Tony, we have a cottonmouth right here.

-Yep, you've seen him here before, haven't you?

-Yes.

-It looks like he's -- We should pull him back this way?

-Yeah.

-So, is this about the size you typically see?

-That's a good size on it.

Most of the time, they're a little smaller than that.

-Boy, look at that huge head!

-That one's ready for winter.

-A lot of times, they will -- This one's trying to get away, which is what they typically do, right?

-Yes.

-But a lot of times, they'll pop that mouth open and gape a little bit.

But this one seems more interested in crawling away than anything else.

So, this is a classic pit viper, isn't it?

With that big head and that thick body.

Okay, I've gotta be a little careful.

And I'm staying way out of striking range.

But look at that band through the eye, too, And so, cottonmouths -- There's that mouth gaping.

So, a lot of times, they'll pop that mouth open, and the interior of the mouth is light.

And so, that's where they get that name.

-Both: "Cottonmouth."

-Yep.

So, Sean, these guys have a terrible reputation, don't they?

-Yeah, people say they're aggressive, but as you can see, it's not really trying to charge us and attack us.

If anything, it wants us to leave it alone and let it go on its way.

-I have heard so many stories of people being attacked by a cottonmouth, chased by cottonmouths.

And the reality is, they generally try and get away.

Now, they will pop that mouth open.

Sometimes, they'll vibrate the tail a little bit.

You know, like other pit vipers -- the thing rattlesnakes will do.

But they generally do just like this.

I think part of it is, they're not a fast snake.

So, sometimes, they'll just stand their ground as opposed to running.

But this one definitely seems intent on getting away.

-The other thing is the smell.

I can smell the musk from here.

[ Laughing ] -And if you -- Yeah, the musk is really -- It's not that bad a smell.

-It's not too bad.

-[ Laughs ] It's not good, either, but... -Yeah, and this one's kind of a dark one.

Some of the ones we see out here are a lot lighter.

-And they're really, really variable, yeah.

So the ones you see out here are sometimes a little lighter than this?

-Some are dark like this, but a majority of them are lighter.

Yeah, so, these guys have a varied diet.

They eat anything from fish and frogs to other snakes.

I've heard fishermen talk about them coming up and trying to eat their string of fish they have hanging over the boat.

-I mean, they'll even eat carrion in certain situations.

I once found one that was swallowing a roadkill watersnake.

So, they eat just about anything, which is really helpful to be that much of a generalist in terms of what you eat.

I'm gonna back this guy up just a little bit.

[ Laughs ] -Yeah, so, the average size that we see around here are usually up to about three feet, but I have seen some a little bit bigger in other areas.

-Yeah, they're not nearly as big.

That's another one of those where, when people see theme, they're ten feet long [Laughing] or something like that.

And the reality is, yeah, a four-footer would be a really big cottonmouth, for sure.

Well, Sean, this has been like old times -- wading around catching snakes in the swamp.

And we managed to get the two species we were looking for here.

-Yeah.

-And I appreciate you letting us come hang out with you for the day.

But, also, I appreciate the work that you're doing educating kids about snakes -- well, and habitats and all kinds of animals and plants.

You guys do really good work here.

-Thanks, Tony.

It was a pleasure having you, and we need to do it again sometime.

-Yep.

♪♪ It can be really difficult to tell the difference between a venomous cottonmouth and non-venomous watersnakes.

Now, we're here at Beidler Forest, and not only are there a lot of cottonmouths here, but there are three kinds of watersnakes.

So, what I thought we would do -- wade around, look for some, and look at some of the differences.

♪♪ ♪♪ Okay, this is what I was hoping to do.

I got two of them.

I noticed that there were two pretty much in the same spot.

Let me grab my stick.

There we go.

[ Chuckles ] Make sure there isn't another one.

Of course, you've gotta be very, very careful that you're not grabbing -- Whoa.

You're not grabbing a cottonmouth.

Obviously, these are harmless watersnakes.

If this was a cottonmouth, I would not grab it like this.

But these are brown watersnakes.

This is Nerodia taxispilota.

And this a fabulous snake.

They do bite.

And can you see this one got me a little bit, but not too bad.

And we've got what's probably an adult male.

Let's see.

An adult male.

I can tell by the tail.

And then, the other one's a juvenile.

Looks like maybe a young male.

And I'm bleeding a little bit.

[ Laughs ] Rinse off the blood.

Anyway, brown watersnakes look a lot like cottonmouths, but there's a couple ways we can tell right off the bat that they're not.

One is, the pattern's not quite right.

Got a very symmetrical pattern.

Also, the head is quite different.

Even though it's a fairly wide head, it's nothing like a cottonmouth.

Cottonmouths have big, blocky heads.

These have a sort of narrow head, and their eyes are real funny on this species.

They're kind of close together and... [ Laughs ] Just a very different snake.

And believe it or not, even though this is a big, chunky snake, if this was a cottonmouth -- much heavier.

Cottonmouths would be much, much, much thicker in the body.

Also, the other thing you notice in watersnakes is, they have these sort of labial bands.

So, on the lips, they almost look like they're stitched together, and that's something that cottonmouths don't have at all.

Now, a couple other quick things.

Cottonmouths also have a tendency to vibrate their tails.

If they get agitated, they'll sort of wiggle that tail and shake it.

Watersnakes are just not gonna do that.

Now, this is a fish-eater.

So, not only do they eat fish, they eat primarily catfish.

And one of the tough things about eating a catfish is, they have spines in them.

So, if these guys grab a catfish and swallow it, the spines -- I've actually caught individuals where the spines were sticking out of the side of the snake.

And eventually, the animal digests the rest of the fish, and the spines fall out or get ingested and evacuated.

All right, I'm gonna put these guys back on the limb, but I think they're probably gonna slide right back in the -- Yeah, this one looks like he's going.

They're really aquatic.

There goes one.

Maybe this little guy will stay up there.

No, they're ready to go.

Okay.

♪♪ So, I just kind of peeked over the side here, and there's another brown watersnake that's actually on the base of the boardwalk, and it's just coiled up at the base.

Looks like a pretty safe place to get up high and bask.

♪♪ I'm just trying to figure out the best angle.

He sees me already.

All right, there's one right in front of me.

It could be a tough grab.

Got it.

Oh, so this is a little guy!

This is young of the year.

So, this would have been born last summer.

So this is its first spring.

And brown watersnakes are live-born.

So, sometimes, in big groups, I mean, there may be 20 or 30 babies or more.

So, they have a lot of babies.

Of course, they start small.

And if they're female, some of the females get -- they approach four feet long and very heavy body.

Great big snakes.

But it's just really good to see the little guys out already this year.

♪♪ Maybe this is a place -- A snake right there.

Okay, so, here is...

Boy, this is a pretty banded watersnake.

Wow!

Man, that is gorgeous!

So, this is another non-venomous one, obviously, but notice how it flattens the head out.

So, I mean, when you glance at it that way, it looks a little bit like a cottonmouth.

But look at those stripes in the face, and that's a dead giveaway that it's one of the watersnakes.

Boy, it's handsome.

Beautiful markings.

And these can be very drab and very dark, but this one just has a lot of color on it.

This is a female, I'm sure.

And I'm guessing by size, because males don't get nearly as big as females.

And this has the tail of a female, and it kind of comes to a taper very quickly.

Beautiful snake.

Okay, here this one goes.

♪♪ Okay, guys, if you look right here, there's a cottonmouth.

And I'm gonna sneak up and see if I can get close.

So, this is a classic pit viper.

Noticed -- heavy body.

And it's got a very big, sort of wedge-shaped head.

And compared to a brown watersnake or a banded watersnake, it actually looks quite different because of that big head.

And much heavier body, as well.

Now, I'm gonna stay out of striking range, but this is a venomous snake.

Okay, I'm gonna just very carefully... pick this animal up with the clamp.

Now, I've got a pretty good grip on it.

Oh, man, they're magnificent snakes.

Look at the wonderful band through the eye.

They have a little bit of a sinister look compared to other snakes, and big wedge-shaped head.

They're really pretty here.

I mean, very pretty.

Better slide him down the pole [Laughs] just a little bit.

But, boy, look at that head.

There's a pit between the eye and the nostril, and that's where it gets the term "pit viper."

These are really aquatic.

This one looks like it has an eye cup that hasn't shed off, So it probably can't see out of this left eye very well, but the other eye looks good.

But one of the things to notice is, these guys have an elliptical pupil.

They have a vertical pupil, and that's for night vision.

And all of our pit vipers have that elliptical pupil.

Now, cottonmouths eat just about anything.

They eat carrion sometimes -- dead snakes and dead birds and things like that.

They also eat frogs, other snakes.

One of the things you notice about cottonmouths is, they float on top of the water, and when they swim, the whole body is up out of the water.

Unlike a watersnake, which swims with just the head out of the water.

You know, we did pretty well today.

We not only found a cottonmouth, but we found some watersnakes, as well.

And, boy, they really do look quite different when you see them side by side.

All these snakes are important.

I mean, they have a right to be here.

They're ecologically important.

And none of these snakes were aggressive.

All they really do is just try and protect themselves.

♪♪ ♪♪ Today, we're after one of the most common venomous snakes in the Lowcountry -- the Copperhead.

In fact, I think it's probably one of the most common snakes, period, but even common snakes are hard to find.

They're cryptic, and they tend to hide.

♪♪ This is great habitat for snakes in general, and certainly copperheads would use this, but it's just good-quality wildlife habitat.

We have some longleaf pine that we planted recently and lots of grasses, lots of sunlight.

Great place for snakes to be.

Well, obviously, there's some white-tailed deer around, so this is a shed antler.

And so, that's pretty amazing.

I mean, white-tailed deer, every year, will shed these antlers and then grow new ones.

♪♪ Whoa, that was close.

Obviously, not a copperhead.

Wow, this one's feisty.

So, obviously not a copperhead.

A non-venomous snake.

A black racer.

And we can tell just a couple quick things.

One is, long, slender snake.

And look how the head's relatively narrow.

A pit viper, like a copperhead, would have a big, wedge-shaped head.

And, of course, the pattern looks nothing like a copperhead, as well.

But classic non-venomous snake.

Round pupil.

A pit viper's gonna have a vertical people.

So that's another way to tell.

Anyway, black racers are really, really common here.

Maybe as common as copperheads.

But, neat little snakes.

♪♪ So, this is one of my study sites, and I put these sheets of tin out because it's a good way to catch small mammals and lizards and snakes.

They don't really attract these things, But I think what it does is give you sort of a window of what's happening just below the leaf litter.

♪♪ Okay, here is one.

Boy, this one about got away from me, But, again, not a copperhead -- because I would not grab a copperhead like this -- but one that is sometimes mistaken for a copperhead.

And this is a corn snake -- and a beautiful corn snake, for sure.

And, you know, they're so much more brightly colored than a copperhead is.

And, again, they have that sort of smallish head -- about the same width as the neck -- and not the heavy, chunky body that pit vipers like the copperheads have.

If this was a copperhead, it'd be twice the diameter, at least.

Corn snakes are completely harmless.

They eat mice and rats, and they're really neat to have around.

♪♪ ♪♪ I've been seeing a couple hanging around right in here.

Man, I don't see anybody.

Poke around for just a minute.

He is right here.

Boy, right up against the tree, so I think what he or she is doing is shuttling back and forth underneath this piece of tin.

Let's see if I can -- I'm gonna bring it out here.

So, here is a copperhead.

Boy, this is a pretty little thing, for sure.

And it's hard to tell -- I was gonna see if I could just look at it and tell whether or not it's a male or female.

Looks like it may be a little female.

So this is absolutely typical size.

They're not really as big a snakes as people think they are.

Common size is about two feet long.

Make sure this tin isn't too hot.

No, it's not bad at all.

So, copperheads are pit vipers.

And look at that great big head -- big wedge-shaped head -- and a fairly stocky body when you compare it to non-venomous snakes, for instance.

Now, this animal's tongue-flicking.

Of course, it's just trying to get away.

These guys see us as danger.

I mean, they don't want to bite a person.

They can't swallow a person, and an altercation with a person is usually gonna end up as something really bad for the snake.

So, copperheads are, again, really common, but they're so secretive.

I mean, stands out pretty well on this piece of tin, but if we put it in a pile of leaves, it pretty much disappears because it's so cryptic.

This is an adult, but a baby would look quite different.

It would have a bright yellow tail tip -- kind of a sulfur.

Looks almost like a highlighter, and that's called a caudal lure.

And they use that to attract little frogs and lizards and things that they want to eat.

So they wiggle that enticingly.

Looks like a little worm or something.

The frog or lizard comes in to investigate and they bite it and eat it.

Now, baby copperheads feed on little frogs and things like that.

As they get bigger, they're able to take mice and even small rats.

But it's kind of neat -- they start eating one thing, and then, eventually, they have to switch to bigger prey as they get bigger and need bigger meals.

So, copperheads are venomous, and they have a pretty toxic venom.

But nobody's ever died from the bite of a copperhead in the United States, so it's probably the least dangerous species we have.

That being said, if you're bitten by a copperhead, you need to get to the hospital and get proper medical care.

So, we have moved to a slightly different habitat.

We went down the road just a little bit, and we've got a little bit more canopy overhead and, boy, some big trees here with some big, long leaves.

But copperheads like a variety of habitats, so this has traditionally been a really good spot to find them.

So, let's look around here.

♪♪ Okay, here's a pretty good-looking spot.

Oh, there's one.

There's two!

Look right here.

Boy, these are beautiful, too.

Two are kind of different-looking ones.

One of them's more of a tan, and the other one's a bit of a pink color.

Now, I'm gonna kind of prop this up right here.

Boy, these are really good-looking animals.

And you know what?

This time of year, we often see two together.

So I'll bet you this is a male and a female.

So, notice the pattern on this.

It has kind of an hourglass pattern.

And one of my friends says that it looks a little bit like Hershey's Kisses, and it does kind of, from the side.

♪♪ So, we have a lot of snakes in the Lowcountry, and that's a good thing.

But the reality is, not only are most of our snakes non-venomous, but even the venomous species like these guys, they're ecologically very important.

We need to have them around.

And besides, they have the right to be here just like any other animal.

Thanks for joining us on "Coastal Kingdom."

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