With summer in full swing, many people will take to the water, and often people will come flying out of the water.
“Get out. There’s a water moccasin!”
Possibly, but doubtful, and practically impossible unless you are in the southeast swamplands of Virginia. Overwhelmingly, snakes seen in the water are simply harmless water snakes – northern water snakes, most likely.
Here’s how to differentiate.
Water snakes have round heads and round eyes. Cottonmouth moccasins (often called water moccasins) have diamond shaped heads and a prominent ridge over their eyes. Water snakes spook easily and dart out of sight, while cottonmouths often stand their ground and open their mouths in defiance, showing a pearly white mouth lining (thus, cotton mouth).
As a rule, water snakes swim slightly submerged while water moccasins generally swim on top of the water. The snakes have different markings and shapes, but check out the head and eyes for quick identification.
And don’t kill a harmless water snake because you think it might be a moccasin. Leave them all alone and they will leave you alone.
