I see them fairly often, but never this close or in a creek this small. Usually at a distance in a larger river like the Chattahoochee.

Otters have recently returned to the James here in the Ozarks.

Me too! lol

Lets gooooooo, Team scarlet snake all the way!@@lucasgarriga7868

I agree they are my favorite kind of snake. They have a bad rep but they are gorgeous I think

@@chadatkins9053 Growing up here in the south, I was constantly told that they would chase you and were very aggressive. I love videos like these proving it was false info. I've learned to love these watersnakes.

@@user-xb4ev2oi8b Wasn't referring to cats.

Roaches have a smell, too. It's horrible. I unfortunately know. I used to be a Pest Control Technician. It's a pharamone they put off. I have no trouble believing a Cottonmouth has a smell of its own.

I swear snails have a smell. Like I thought it was just rain or wet dirt but I only smell it when snails are out.

Cottonmouths have three defensive behaviors they will open their mouth wide open exposing the white interior, vibrate their tails and emit a foul smelly musk when trying to escape from being captured or killed by any predators or persons who are near them.

Been there, done that!

Yep. I see their poop and tracks all the time.

Remember the cottonmouths in Lonesome Dove? 😳

@@fly_speck_cafe OMG I can't believe you brought that up! Haha hell yeah I do. That is one of the best series I've ever watched. Yeay he was scared of the water and Newt is like come on now it's not that bad. Oh yes it was!

You are lucky to be alive! 😂👍✌️

Most likely there warming up

So do copperheads.

Copperheads are also very gorgeous creatures I love their color patterns very unique

It's never a good idea for herpetologist to reveal Herping locations on the internet you can guess why. 🤔

Gotcha! I was just thinking about areas to AVOID when we trail ride and horse camp! Lol

@brendamoore447 Cottonmouths are normally found in the Southeastern quarter of the United States in the Coastal plains long leaf pine forest Swamps, young pinelands ,tributaries, rivers and pocosins. They rarely bite humans only if you step on or handle them will they bite. Cottonmouths are responsible for less than 1% of fatal snake bites.

Really, really bad musk usually. Although I do pick up almost every one I find off camera to move them off the road.

There likely isn’t anywhere within the perimeter with enough intact habitat to support Cottonmouths. Outside the perimeter, they’re mostly found in the southern and western suburbs. But they do exist in the montane regions of northwest Georgia outside the Atlanta metro, so cold water probably isn’t the limiting factor. Honestly, I don’t think anyone knows why they’re distributed how they are. They’re strange snakes.

@@NKFherping Thanks man. The cold water was his 'theory' which I hadn't ever really thought about. So, since they are cold blooded, it made sense at the time. Even though we have high heat and somewhat high humidity (ours isn't anything like LA, AR, E. TX) at times the water (see the hooch) can be pretty cold, relatively speaking coming out of the lake. Growing up in the south, cottonmouths and copperheads were pretty common. Copperheads in the metro are pretty prevalent and I don't want to get nailed by one (stealthy little bas***).

They’re certainly seeing juvenile Cottonmouths.

Because they’re bulky and you can’t walk 6-10 miles in a day wearing them.

@NKFherping maybe in your heat down there yea lol. I've definitely worn them all day while stream fishing up here in NY

Could you be more specific? I looked, but didn’t see anything……🙂

@@jenn1234 I would, but can’t see an option to attach a photo.

Thanks….I have looked and looked, but I don’t see it. I see things that might be snakes, but I guess I don’t know for sure. No biggie 😁@@jbernard911

I do.

Doubtful, but not impossible. They occur nearby in better habitat.

I certainly don’t!

@@NKFherping me either I love em

If it hasn’t happened to myself or any other herper/herpetologist yet, it isn’t going to. There’s a reason we have video proof of so many incredibly rare things since the invention of the smartphones everyone carries now, yet there still isn’t a video of a Cottonmouth chasing someone.

@@NKFherping I know two people with impeccable records of honesty who say they were chased for a short distance. I believe them over a herpetologist I’ve never met. The question I have is … are there any possible scenarios whereby a cottonmouth would react aggressively without being harassed? Disease perhaps?

Many people truly do believe they were chased by a Cottonmouth. Your mistake is trusting someone that doesn’t necessarily know how to identify snakes or understand snake behavior over the many herpetologists that do so for a living. The vast majority of people who claim to have been chased by a Cottonmouth couldn’t even tell you the difference between a Cottonmouth and a Watersnake. Watersnakes are much more flighty, and likely to jump off of branches into boats while trying to flee into the water below. This is what many people claim is “chasing”, and the snakes doing it most often aren’t even Cottonmouths. Cottonmouths can also be quick to flee, and if you stand between them and the water they will come in your direction quickly. But you’re not being chased, the snake is just trying to reach the safety of the water where it can move more quickly and escape. I have this happen semi-regularly, and while I wouldn’t recommend anyone else let them do it, Cottonmouths will quite literally crawl right over your foot to get where they want to go without attempting to bite. Regardless, they don’t pose any real threat of chasing you down and inflicting a bite. Bites occur when people are trying to catch or kill them, and occasionally when they’re accidentally stepped on or grabbed by people not paying attention. And for diseases, there are no known pathogens that would cause heightened aggressiveness (like rabies) in snakes.

@@NKFherping Thanks for the reply. You are assuming that the two gentlemen, one in Louisiana and one in East Texas are 1) incapable of identifying a cottonmouth or 2) are unsafe around them. Well, I made sure to get the facts on those two points before venturing to ask my question here. The truth is they live and make a living in the bayous and rivers, and they can tell the difference between all the local snakes and wildlife. Of all the people I’ve heard claim an “attack” by a cottonmouth, these two are absolutely honest about their incidents. Plus these two men would never risk getting close to a venomous snake. They have seen many accidental bites from careless people and those trying to show off. Anyway, both of them say that the incidents were uncharacteristic of cottonmouths’ usual mellow behavior. I’m old enough to remember when the weather “experts” were adamant in their belief that there was no such thing as ball lightning. In all the years, and countless specialists, it had never been caught on tape, or the videos were called fake. Then things changed. Someone finally stopped calling the witnesses hacks and took the matter seriously.

@dartmart9263 I wasn’t referring to your friends specifically, just generalizing based on the majority of people I’ve talked to who claim to have been “chased”. I don’t know them, but I also don’t personally know a single person who claims to have been chased by a Cottonmouth that can actually identify them. And I’m from Georgia, so where they live doesn’t mean much to me. You could pick any 5 dudes from my neck of the woods too, and maybe one of them could identify all the local venomous snakes. I also never claimed they were being dishonest. Just that they may not necessarily be interpreting what actually happened correctly. If they never risk getting anywhere close to a venomous snake, they’ve likely never had an opportunity to observe and learn from their behavior over an extended period of time like myself and other herpers/herpetologists have. Anyone who has been incorrectly taught that Cottonmouths will chase people growing up is going to see a snake moving slightly fast in their general direction and naturally just assume they’re being chased. That doesn’t make them a liar, but it also doesn’t mean their word carries the same weight as the entire scientific/herpetological community. Like I said earlier, everyone has a smart phone in their pocket, and every other person from the south has been “chased by a cottonmouth”. So why isn’t there a single video of it happening?