- I'm Coyote Peterson.
Right now we're hiking in the southern swamps of Texas,
which is home to two different water snake species.
One is venomous, and one is not.
If your life depended on it,
would you be able to tell the difference?
(dramatic music)
Stick around, 'cause we're about to show ya.
(dramatic jungle music)
(animal growling)
As the sun cut through the tops of the cypress trees,
I carefully made my way into the swamp.
Every step counts when you're in the back country
of south Texas.
And as my boots slowly splashed through the dark water,
my focus was completely in tune with the environment.
I knew that it was only a matter of time before
I would find the one reptile that most people
are terrified of.
Ah.
- [Cameraman] Hey, what are you looking for?
- Snakes, and nothing yet.
You know, most people are out there and they're hiking
and they stumble upon snakes when they don't expect to.
Me, I'm always lookin' for 'em.
But if you do come across one in the wild,
I think it's really important to identify the species.
A lot of times you have a non-venomous snake
that will look like a venomous one.
Unfortunately, these non-venomous snakes
are then vilified as being venomous
and a lot of times they end up being killed.
My goal today is to catch one non-venomous snake
and one venomous snake so we can show you
the distinct differences between the two.
Ah, it's a long search out here in the swamps.
I'm not givin' up.
We are gonna find some snakes.
(water splashing)
(suspenseful music)
(dramatic music)
(yelling)
Yes! Yes!
Check it out.
Okay, little bitey, little bitey.
Ah, ah, ah, ah, he's got my finger.
Ouch!
Ah, good news for me, though,
is that this one is non-venomous.
Bring it up in the light, check that out.
That is a broad-banded water snake.
Woo, okay.
That is half of the equation right there.
Watch your GoPro.
He's trying to bite ya.
Well, that's the safe one.
Now we gotta find the moccasin.
Whew, awesome!
Man, definitely got my thumb.
A bite from this one and I'm gonna be just fine.
But the other snake we're lookin' for?
The water mocassin?
If that attacked my thumb,
we wouldn't be gettin' shots.
We'd be on our way to the hospital.
Look at that.
Let me get 'em real close for your camera there.
Woah!
- [Cameraman] He's bitey.
Beautiful snake.
- Okay, cool.
Well, let's keep searching for moccasins.
(dramatic music)
You do not wanna do is just accidentally
step on a venomous snake.
This is definitely moccasin territory.
There's a moccasin right there.
Okay, come up slow.
- [Cameraman] Where?
- Right up against the side of that tree.
- [Cameraman] Oh, I see.
- Wow, look at how big it is.
Okay, now this it the real deal.
Stay back.
(exhaling)
Okay.
Stay a couple steps back out.
Now, they usually move pretty slow.
I'm gonna try to hook it and bring it up here
on the path.
You ready?
- [Cameraman] Yup.
Careful.
(dramatic music)
- Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
Startle.
(dramatic music)
- [Cameraman] Careful.
- Got it by the tail, got it by the tail.
Okay, there we go.
Do not wanna take a bite from this snake.
That one will send ya to the hospital.
Okay, bringing it up on the path here.
Wow, okay.
Ooh, rattle in the tail a little bit.
That is a defensive sign.
Okay.
Ah, ah, ah, tss, tss, tss, tss.
It should just stop for us.
Come here, come here.
There we go.
All right, what we need to do now is just get
the snake under control so that we can get it
up close for the cameras.
Let me move it back a little bit here.
Ha, my nerves are goin'.
Just looking into the water there
and that's how well these things camouflage.
I just saw it out of the corner of my eye,
just an obscure shape up against that cypress.
And that's what these snakes will do.
You don't often see them slithering about
like you would a water snake.
They'll often be just like this,
curled up in a ball somewhere trying to stay camouflaged,
trying to stay away from any potential predators.
Then again, if you were gonna try to eat this snake,
you better be quick because if you're tagged
by those fangs, you are going to be in a world of trouble.
Now this is a water moccasin,
but they are famously known as cottonmouths.
And watch this.
I'll get the snake to open its mouth
and you'll see that white throat.
Look at that.
That is a defensive, woah, see?
And look, he got the tail goin' now, too.
You see that?
Mimicking a rattlesnake, saying I am venomous.
Yes, we know that you are venomous.
I can actually see the fangs tucked back.
Woo, I am drippin' bullets of sweat right now.
Let me back up a touch.
Okay, well perfect.
We have the two snake species that are indigenous
to this habitat.
A water moccasin and a broad-banded water snake.
One venomous, one that is not.
Stick around and we'll show you which is which.
Wow.
Check this out.
Completely calm now considering the fact
just a few minutes ago this snake was doing
everything it could to bite me and get away.
This is the broad-banded water snake.
And look at this incredibly calm demeanor.
Now I noticed the same thing with Lake Erie water snakes
and northern water snakes.
At first it's all about fight or flight.
If they can't get away and you catch 'em,
they immediately try to bite you.
Now the good news for me, like I said before,
is that this is a non-venomous species.
- [Cameraman] So how big do the snakes get?
I mean, do these snakes get as big as
a northern water snake?
- Yeah, they do.
I would say this is about average size for
one of these snakes.
It is I'd say about two and a half feet in length.
But they can grow out to be about three and a half
or four feet at a maximum size.
Females are larger than the males,
and I do believe it's a male, looking at its cloaca.
Yeah, you're a handsome fella, aren't ya?
Now, these snakes are often misidentified.
People see them near the water
and they automatically think it's a water moccasin.
This is a very common species all across
the southeastern United States.
And the reason people mistake it for a water moccasin
is mostly the fact that A, it's right by the water,
and B, the coloration.
I'm gonna turn the snake just a little bit.
You see all that dark brown that runs the length
of the body?
And then that faded banding looks just like
a younger water moccasin.
But then of course if you flip the snake over
and look at its belly,
look at all that copper checkering.
You will not find that on a water moccasin.
And not that you'd ever necessarily see
the belly of the snake,
but I just think that that's really, really cool lookin'.
Ho, ho, this is actually the first time
I have caught this species of snake.
And it is just so incredibly calm right now.
I cannot believe how comfortable this snake
has gotten with us,
and we've only been handling it for a few minutes.
Oh, but it did musk on me.
There you go.
See that white stuff on my hand right there?
- [Cameraman] Ew.
- Oh, yeah, it stinks.
That is another defense mechanism.
Poop on a potential predator if it's trying to eat me.
All right, but I'm not gonna eat you.
Don't worry.
We could just hang out and be friends.
Wow, this snake is so cool.
Well, I think at this juncture we should bring out
the water moccasin.
I'm gonna hand the snake off to Mario.
He's gonna bring in the moccasin.
This is gonna be a little more dangerous.
Hopefully we'll get that snake to just calm down
on the ground and we'll get the cameras up close for it
so we can show you the distinct field markings
of that snake.
All right, you ready?
- [Mario] Yup.
- All right, now we're gonna bring in the water moccasin.
Ah, just keep your wits about you 'cause
this is going to be slightly more dangerous.
Okay, let me bring it over here.
Come here, come here, come here.
- [Cameraman] Slightly is an understatement.
- [Coyote] Yeah.
I got it, I got it, I got it.
Sling it in under.
Hold on, let me get her to stop.
Shht, shht.
There we go.
- [Cameraman] So, Coyote, the water snake you just held
had anticoagulant in its saliva.
This snake has venom.
What would this snake do to you?
- This snake would, depending on how your body reacted,
it could potentially kill you.
There are not many reported deaths
from water moccasin bites.
However, that venom is incredibly toxic
and it will break down your red blood cells.
You could lose a finger,
you could lose your hand.
Let's just put it this way.
If I'm tagged by this snake,
we are leaving the scene and we are heading
to the hospital.
So I need to be extra careful right now.
Mark, we've got you a couple feet past the snake.
We've got Mario just off camera here
making sure if the snake makes a move,
he can keep it away from you, Mark.
But other than that,
if we just stay calm and collected
just like this in front of the snake,
we should be just fine.
You see, the snake's not trying to flee.
It's just keeping itself low to the ground,
its body spread.
Look how wide and girthy that snake is.
Now these snakes, like the banded water snakes, are aquatic.
However, they do not dive down under water to hunt.
You will see them occasionally moving from
pocket of water to pocket of water,
but they usually are hunting on the embankment.
These snakes do not have rattles like rattlesnakes
and they rely on their camouflage to keep them hidden.
A lot of times people will be walking down a trail,
you accidentally step on the snake,
and that's how you are bitten.
This snake has no interest in chasing
or hurting humans.
If you just admire this animal from a safe distance,
you're gonna be just fine.
Okay, so the most important part of this episode
is that we want to show you a comparison
of this snake next to the broad-banded water snake.
Now to do that I'm going to have to get
the water moccasin under control,
which means I'm gonna use my snake hook
to gently pin its head and then pick the snake up.
Mario's gonna bring in the broad-banded water snake,
we're gonna put them side-by-side,
and show you the distinct field marks
so that you can properly identify these snakes
if you ever come across them in the wild.
- [Mark] Should we get in for a shot?
- [Coyote] I am gently going to get position of her head
just like this.
There we go.
I want my fingers just behind the head like that.
- [Mark] This is the most dangerous thing
you can do with a venomous snake.
- Yup.
Never, ever, ever do what you see me doing here.
I'll get full control of the body.
There we go.
Yeah, well you notice my hand is shaking.
Now never, ever, ever try to pick up a venomous snake
like you just saw me do.
The only reason that I headed this snake
is so that we can get both of these
right next to each other.
I've got a gentle yet firm grip on the back
of her head just behind the venom glands
and full control of the body.
You won't see me moving too much more
for this scene.
I just kind of gotta collect my nerves, stay calm.
Mario, go ahead and bring in the broad-banded water snake.
- [Mario] There we go.
- Cool.
- Lookin' a little nervous.
- Little bit.
Kind of have a dangerous snake here in my hand.
She's calmed down a bit.
You can see her tongue's flickin' out now,
so that's good.
She's not trying to expose her fangs.
Now the water moccasin, because it it a pit viper
and it has these two massive venom glands,
has a very triangular-shaped head.
You pan over to the broad-banded water snake,
and its head is actually very narrow.
However, when these broad-banded water snakes
are threatened, they will flatten their heads
and puff them up, forming them into a triangle,
which often times causes people to misidentify them
for water moccasins.
It's good news for the snake if it draws off a predator,
but it's bad news if that predator's a human,
and then unfortunately that snake usually
ends up being killed.
Hoo, sorry, a little nervous.
Let's look on the heads as well at the snake's eye.
So I'm just gonna slightly turn.
- [Mario] I'll move, you stay there.
- Okay, okay.
You'll notice that the water moccasin
has a vertical pupil while the broad-banded water snake
has a circular pupil.
I don't imagine anybody out there watching is
ever gonna get face-to-face with either
of these snake species,
but if you happen upon one and you see a vertical pupil,
you know it's a moccasin and you know
that it's venomous.
Now the last difference on the face of these snakes
is the fact that the water moccasin is a pit viper.
Now right up front there you'll see a nostril
and just behind that you see another hole
in-between the nostril and the eye.
That is the heat-sensing pit which allows these
snakes to detect not only their prey,
but potential predators in the environment.
Now when you look at the broad-banded water snake,
you'll notice that it does not have pits,
just eyes and nostrils.
When you look at these two snakes overhead,
you can see how similar they are in coloration.
Now the broad-banded water snake has more distinct banding,
but if you were to just see these snakes
at a quick glance,
they are pretty similar-looking.
But you'll notice that the water moccasin
has a much girthier flattened body
as compared to the banded water snake.
Look at that difference right there.
- [Mark] But their scales look similar.
- [Coyote] They do, don't they?
And both species have rough keeled scales
which allows them to quickly be able to move
through this rugged environment.
- [Mark] Can we see the bellies?
I know that's another big difference.
- Yup.
- [Mark] Wow, look at that.
- Yup, now you're never likely to see the belly
of these two snakes next to each other,
but as you can see,
the banded water snake is beautiful and checkered,
and the water moccasin is just kind of plain
and cream-colored.
Not that that makes the snake any less special.
(Mario sniffing)
- I smell something, Coyote.
- You do.
I smell that same thing.
Both of these snakes right now are musking,
which is a final defense tactic in the event
that something tries to eat them.
That musk is coming out of their bottom ends,
and if you're a predator and you get that
in your mouth, it tastes really bad.
So as you can tell,
these snakes have many different defenses
against potential predators.
For everyone out there watching,
we want you to know that these two snakes
are very difficult to distinguish
from one another.
And if you see a snake out there in the wild,
definitely treat it as if it's venomous.
If it's a moccasin and you take a bite,
you're gonna be in a lot of trouble.
So it's best to just always admire these animals
from a safe distance.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave!
Stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
All right, you ready to let 'em go?
- Let's do it.
- Back into the wild with these snakes.
Working with snakes is one of the most
dangerous aspects of this job,
and the reason I do it is so that we can
learn about these incredible animals
and hopefully walk away with a newfound respect
for even the ones that we are afraid of.
If you thought this episode was fascinating,
make sure to go back and watch as Mario
and I compared an alligator to a crocodile.
And don't forget, subscribe,
so you can join me and the crew on this season
of Breaking Trail.
(animal growling)
(birds chirping)