- Ready? One, two, three.
(dramatic drumming music)
(grunting)
Hold on. I'm gonna lose him.
(shuffling)
Got em. Got em. Got em. Got em.
That is a big fox snake.
(Wild drumming music)
(growl)
- [Narrator] North Bass Island is slithering with snakes.
Today we are exploring this remote land mass
in search of the fox snake.
So far we have spent several hours intricately examining
the rock walls, rolling fields and abandon structures
of this unique ecosystem.
Yet, the only reptile we've encountered thus far
has been the incredibly common garter snake.
In an attempt to get even more remote,
we return to our kayaks and paddled around
the southwestern edge of the island toward Manila Bay.
Upon coming ashore, we prepare to stow our water craft
and as I looked for a good place
to pull our kayaks from the lake, the unimaginable happened.
- Snake, snake, snake. Hold on.
Mario, got a snake.
It's a fox snake. It's a fox snake 100%.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get your camera.
- [Narrator] The following series of events are chaotic.
And the cameras are shaky.
But this is often exactly how animal encounters happen.
When you least expect them.
- Here, here, here, here. Over here.
- [Mario] Okay, do you have it?
- Nope, it is right back in there.
I'm gonna take off my hat.
I'm just gonna dive for it.
Ready? One, two, three.
(shuffling) Got it.
- [Mario] Got it?
- [Coyote] Got it.
Ah, that's about as real as a catch get right here, guys.
That is a big fox snake.
I got my hand wrapped around it's backside.
Hold on a second.
I gotta go underneath this underbrush to get it.
Hang on a second.
(shuffling)
I'm tangled up in these...
We're losing him.
Hold on. He's getting down into this cause.
Hold on. I'm gonna lose him.
Got em. Got em Got em Got em.
Yes! That is a fox snake right there.
[Mario] Nice.
That is the elusive fox snake
that we have been searching for.
Hold on, guys.
I am tangled up in vines here.
That is a good size snake.
Look at that. Wow.
Hold on my sunglasses are smashed into my face.
I literally had to dive into the underbrush to grab it.
And the way that I saw it, it's just it's tail
disappearing into the underbrush.
What an amazing catch.
Okay, well, let's definitely get a cool segment
with this snake.
Let's find a better place to film it.
(cheer) High fives, buddy.
- [Mario] All right.
- You're gonna get your photographs with the fox snake.
- [Mario] Nice.
- Beautiful snake. Wow. Yes.
All right, guys.
Well, talk about a chaotic catch.
We spend the majority of the day searching
North Bass Island for fox snakes.
And low and behold we found one
just at the opening of Fox's Marsh.
How ironic is that?
Fox's Marsh brings us to the fox snake.
Now, this is a completely harmless species,
which is often times misidentified as a copperhead.
Notice that checkered patterning
that runs down the length of the body,
both on the back and on the underside.
But, this is actually a species of rat snake.
Now they are Colubrids, non-venomous and
completely friendly.
From the moment I placed my hand on the snake
to this moment right here
the snake has not once tried to bite me.
You can see how incredibly calm it is.
In fact, they are so calm, watch this.
I can actually put it around my neck
and on my hat very gently
and all it's gonna do is continue to climb.
Slither from one spot to the next.
Look at that.
Such a friendly snake.
Hi, buddy. How are you?
Now this is actually a female.
Females are larger than the males
and they can grow up to six feet in length.
Now this snake, I would say ...
All right, now let me take you back off of my hat here.
Is about three and a half maybe four feet.
So that is a good size fox, that is for sure.
And I am so excited to have found this snake
because I'm telling you guys,
we scoured this island looking for fox snakes
and while we saw many garter snakes
and Lake Erie water snakes,
the fox snake was the gem that we were after.
Now what these snakes are hunting for,
because they're opportunistic,
is pretty much anything they can come across.
They will eat frogs and small little insects,
other arthropods, but they're primary
source of food is small mammals, also birds.
Actually, what they will do is stay underneath
a bird's nest, especially this time of year
where bird eggs are beginning to hatch,
they'll wait for the babies to fall out of the nest
and then they will sit there and have a very simple meal.
They will often times rattle the tail.
Do you see the tail?
See how short and stubby it is?
They will rattle that tail in the leaves
and that mimics a rattle snake.
Another reason that these snakes
are sometimes mistaken as a venomous species.
But the fox snake is completely harmless, guys.
Now, for the most part you will find these snakes
on the ground.
They're primarily terrestrial,
but you may remember an episode from very early on
in the Breaking Trail series, where I actually climbed
up a tree to catch a fox snake.
They will occasionally go up into the trees
to steal eggs or baby birds from the nest.
This is a nomadic species and during the breeding season
they will stay in one area to try to attract a mate.
But, throughout the rest of the summer,
these snakes are moving from spot to spot
searching for food.
It's actually really tough to keep it still.
You can see it's wanting to slither from one hand
to the next and I'm just trying to be as gentle
as I possibly can.
Such a cool snake.
I love the coloration of the fox snake.
You see the gold, copper tint to the head.
And then all the gold and brown patterning
that runs down the length of the body.
And this is a very robust snake species.
You can see how girthy this female is.
Very healthy.
And you may be wondering why this is called a fox snake.
Often times, when these snakes feel threatened,
like if I was like biting onto the snake
and it felt that it was in threat for it's life
they will release a musk that smells like a fox den.
We have filmed with red foxes before
and they have a very almost mustelid type smell to them.
Of course we know mustelids are members
of the weasel family.
But the fox snake will often times omit a musk
that smells just like a fox
and that is how they got their name.
These snakes will also go down into burrows
to hunt after their pray and I can imagine that like a fox,
maybe that's also where the name came from
because foxes live in dens.
Well guys, a long day of searching finally led
to an epic catch where we managed to get
what I consider the true gem of the Lake Erie islands,
the fox snake, up close for the cameras.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave. Stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
Time to release the snake right back where I caught it.
Here we go. Slither off.
There she goes.
Bye bye, snake.
There are few places in the world that I enjoy exploring
as much as the Erie islands.
A remote world of animals and adventure
await to be discovered every time I embark upon
and expedition to this magical place.
Some people fear snakes.
I personally love them
And a non-venomous species that call this island chain home
are as harmless as it gets.
If you ever have the chance to visit
Lake Erie's beautiful islands,
and encounter one of these peaceful reptiles,
I hope that you will now have an appreciation
for the wondrous creatures that they truly are.
If you thought the fox snake was worth the wait,
make sure go to back and watch where this episode began
as we paddled across Lake Erie to explore
the wilderness of snake island.
And don't forget, subscribe so you can join me
and the crew on this season of Breaking Trail.
(thunder and howling)