The overlook A young Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorous conanti) sitting atop a cypress knee. I was at a small ephemeral pond in the Apalachicola national forest photographing green fly orchids on some (other) cypress knees when I noticed this young snake cruising around. He ultimately perched himself upon this knee, so I took a break from the orchids to snap a pic. Cottonmouths are venomous and get their name from the stark white color of the inside of their mouth, which they will open wide and gape when threatened. Most often, as with most venomous and non-venomous snakes, they generally are not aggressive when left unprovoked and even when threatened, will try to escape to the safety of the water.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 21:37:50 +0000