This is a Brown Water Snake……

Comment

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on March 8, 2023 at 2:11pm

Yeah Bruce…….growing up in southern Louisiana we were taught to respect all snakes but especially the cottonmouth because we were on the water often……..I’ve seen some aggressive and large cottonmouths on the bayous…..but I have to tell you I have been humbled by the size and abundance of these poisonous snakes in North Carolina and even Virginia…..

Comment by Bruce Tomaselli on March 6, 2023 at 4:54pm

Sure looks ferocious. 

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on March 6, 2023 at 4:37pm

See pictures below….this is why so many brown water snakes are killed…..they look very similar to the poisonous cottonmouth with a similar North American range…..another difference is the water snake will submerge and stay for extended time and swims with most of their body under the surface but a cottonmouth will have their entire body on the surface when swimming…