(dramatic instrumental music) (water sloshing)
(water splashing) - Got it!
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!
Oh, it latched onto my finger!
(wildcat screams)
(dramatic percussion music)
(bear roars)
During the warm months of summer,
the wetland ecosystems of the northeastern United States
are a lush catacomb of plants and well-camouflaged animals.
From a bird's eye view the lily pads are so dense,
it almost appears as if you could walk right across them.
Yet, just beneath the surface,
a tangled maze of chaos would entangle any creature
not perfectly suited to survive in this aquatic jungle.
Today we are exploring a protected stretch of property
in central Ohio.
This private reserve is home to a variety of animals
including a slithering swamp serpent
that is oftentimes wrongfully cast in a villainous roll.
My goal is to rewrite the script
and teach you why this reptile should be respected
and not feared, but to do so
first I must find and catch
the elusive northern water snake.
(water sloshing)
Check this out, whoa.
That
is a little tiny
painted turtle.
That guy was just up on the embankment,
also likely out absorbing some of the sunlight.
He didn't even see us coming.
Definitely didn't expect a predator to come from the water
in towards the edge.
Look how cute he is.
Alright, I'm gonna place him back.
Believe it or not, a turtle of this size
is the perfect meal for one of the northern water snakes
that we're looking for.
You stay safe out there, little buddy.
Okay.
The search continues.
We continued on course, battling the thick grass
and dense vegetation as the sun beat down overhead.
The conditions were perfect,
but the snakes were nowhere to be seen.
In this environment,
it's just so tough to move through.
All of these lily pads just
grab at your legs (water sloshing)
as you're moving through.
And the problem is that I'm disturbing the environment a lot
now, these snakes can feel vibrations in the water,
so as I approach, there could be one curled up on a lily pad
who'll completely dive under the surface
before I even got close.
Let's check up here near these taller grasses.
Maybe we'll have a chance.
For a reptile, even a finely tuned predator
like the water snake, staying perfectly camouflaged
in the environment means survival on many levels.
Not only does it keep them poised for an attack
on any unsuspecting prey item,
it also keeps them hidden from the sights of larger animals
that would in turn love nothing more
than to have a delicious snake lunch.
In today's scenario, I am playing the role of a predator.
And while I don't eat snakes, my would be prey
has finally been spotted.
Mario, snake, snake snake snake!
Alright, I'm making a move on it.
(water splashing)
Got it!
- [Mario] You got it?
- I'm losing I'm losing it!
(sighs)
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!
Oh, it latched onto my finger!
Ah!
Oh boy!
Ah, that's a big bite, woo!
Ah ah!
Latched onto my arm (gasping).
Okay, well,
that's what happens when you grab on
to the northern water snake.
You stand a chance (gasps) ouch!
Of taking a pretty good bite.
That is a good sized snake right there.
Wow, oh boy.
Yeah, I am definitely bleeding.
But that is okay, we have got our snake.
Wow, alright, guys, let's get into
a slightly more controlled setting
and get this one up close for the cameras.
(gasps) Youch, took a bite on the finger
and a full bite all across my arm.
Yes, we got one. (water sloshing)
(sighs) Well, that was one arduous search,
but we finally managed to catch a northern water snake.
And in the process I took a pretty nasty bite.
And he also got ahold of the entire side of my forearm.
Now, because the snake was in flight,
I just had to dive and grab for it,
and I was grabbing it by the back of the body,
then it unfortunately found me in the perfect position
for this snake to strick and inflict a bite.
But fear not, guys, this is a nonvenomous species.
Which is oftentimes mistaken
for the venomous water moccasin.
Now, we have compared the banded water snake
to the water moccasin before,
but the reason I wanted to catch a northern water snake
is look how dark in coloration this snake is.
Almost no banding.
Now, when they're younger that banding is very distinct,
and as they get older it disappears
and then they are just dark brown in coloration.
Alright, this is one of the most common aquatic
snake species that you will find here
in the northeastern United States and, pretty good sized.
It can get a bit bigger than this,
closer to four feet at full length.
I would guess that this is likely a male.
The females do grow larger than the males.
But nonetheless, an absolutely gorgeous reptile.
You can see now that it figures out that I'm not trying
to eat it, I'm not clawing at it, I'm not biting it,
it is completely calmed down, it is not striking.
It is (sniffs),
it's musking a little bit,
which means that it is pooping on me.
That is a third defense mechanism.
Obviously, the first one is to flee,
the second one is to fight, so entails the bite,
and then of course, pooping on your potential attacker
is a worst case scenario.
But at this point the snake has pretty much figured out,
okay, well, nobody's trying to eat me
so I'm gonna stay completely calm.
Let me see if I can get it to just,
stretch out in my hands there, look at that.
What a cool looking snake.
Now, like I said earlier, this time of the day
snakes are using the sun to heat up
so that they can head out and hunt.
These lily pads are full of frogs,
small fish, tadpoles.
And that is exactly what these snakes are going after.
I was able to sneak in and catch it
which allows us to get it up close for the camera,
but they are voracious predators.
Constantly searching for these other aquatic lifeforms
to feast on.
Now, you think of predators for a snake like this,
something that may come to mind is the great blue heron.
Great blue herons oftentimes will catch snakes,
even of this size, and gobble them down rather quickly.
But hopefully this guy can stay hidden
out here in the lily pads.
They've done a good job all morning
alluding us from capture.
Now, we saw a couple of smaller ones earlier
that just were too quick for me to catch,
but that was simply a matter of being in the right place
at the right time to get this reptile
in front of the cameras.
And you can see if I put my finger out
just in front of his nose there,
he's gonna stick out his tongue.
And that's him sensing me.
And with that tongue it is able to taste chemicals
in the environment, and right now that snake is thinking,
okay, well, you've got this camera here,
we've got a camera there, we've got Coyote
holding on to me, not something I can eat.
So, as long as I stay calm, I can build up my energy
and then at any moment when he feels
that there is an opportunity to escape,
it will burst into action
and try to flee back into the water.
But right now, I've got it just perfectly positioned
right there in my hand, look at that.
Now, one of the defense mechanisms of the snake,
especially when they're angry and they're in aggressive mode
is they will puff up their bodies and their heads,
which makes them look like the venomous water moccasin.
And that's how oftentimes people will mistake this snake
for that venomous species, and unfortunately
then think, oh, it's dangerous, I should kill it.
But the northern water snake
is a completely harmless species.
What a cool looking snake.
Let me actually set it down into the water for a second
so you can see
just what they look like in the water.
You see how it blends completely into the water like that?
And what they will do is just slink through
the grasses and the cattails, look at that,
see how it just slowly moves?
And actually, like that in the water,
you can see that the banding is a little more prominent.
And that banding, despite the fact
that it is rather tough to see,
does keep them camouflaged in between all the plant matter,
the light, and the shadows.
Look at that, look how they can just easily
move through the grasses, let me bring the snake
back up here, oh oh oh!
He's getting a little defensive now.
I don't wanna take another bite.
Here we go, buddy.
Now, if you guys go out there into a wetland environment
and you see one of these snakes,
I definitely do not recommend trying to catch it.
Because while they may not be venomous,
their bite is pretty painful.
They have an ant-coagulant in their saliva
which will cause you to bleed more than normal.
As you can see, that blood is still coming
out of my finger and out of my forearm.
But, if you do try to catch one and you are bitten,
fear not, a little soap and water, a little first aid
will clean that bite up and you'll be just fine.
Well, despite the fact that the northern water snake
is an incredibly common species,
it sure did pose a challenge to find,
catch, and get up close for the cameras.
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave!
Stay wild!
We'll see ya on the next adventure.
Oh, I think it's time to clean up that bite.
(water sloshing)
No matter what the species,
humans generally seem to fear snakes,
casting them as villains the second
one slithers across their path.
Yet, truth be told, these reptiles really want nothing more
than to stay hidden from our sight.
The northern water snake does have
an aggressive temperament when tangled with.
And they will readily bite to defend themselves,
especially when put into the position
where they become prey.
So, if one of these snakes does happen across your path,
simply stand still, admire the moment,
and recognize that to this reptile, you are the predator,
and there's absolutely nothing to fear.
If you want to overcome your fear of snakes,
learn about the differences between
venomous and nonvenomous species
by watching the water snake vs. water moccasin episode.
And don't forget, subscribe!
So you can join me and the crew
on this season of Breaking Trail.
This is going to be slightly more dangerous.
(thunder rumbling) (bear roars)
(bird calling)