Snake infested water bodies

[Steve in Idaho]

I don't consider your cottonmouth description to be aggressive behavior. We are giants to most snakes - something 100x bigger than a cottonmouth or rattlesnake. They don't want to get stepped on and crushed, so they're trying to get our attention. 'Hey, I'm here, don't tread on me!'

There's been a study or two with prosthestics where researchers tried to elicit bites. In this study, only 6% of rattlesnakes bit when stepped on with a fake leg/boot. Most tried to flee. As mentioned by GladMax, the gross majority of venomous snake bites in the US (and I'll venture Canada) happen to people deliberately interacting with snakes (trying to move them, capture them, kill them, photo graph them, etc).

In two years of working on wildlife research in the Everglades, mostly studying and trying to control pythons, tromping through backcountry for miles and miles, wading through swamp and marsh up to chest deep, I encountered all of two cottonmouths that acted as you describe, which I'd call being visibly defensive as opposed to relying on hiding or leaving. I always backed off, and we were all fine. I encountered many large pythons (8ft - 15ft), only one of which ever bit someone before we grabbed it. The ones that lunged and struck were all being grabbed - their first instinct is to hide, and their second instinct is to flee (which they do extremely fast). Even snakes like cottonmouths, watersnakes, racers and ratsnakes that sometimes rear up and lunge, which I categorize as being defensive. When you back off, they generally stop and try to leave. I had similar experience during a summer in Okefenokee.

When I worked in the Ozarks there were tons of copperheads, and timber rattlers were common enough. We practiced snake-safe bushcraft - always look where you put your hands and feet. These snakes tend to hang out along and under logs because mice travel along logs, so I always look on the far side of a log before stepping over. When our botany crews encountered a venomous snake in the plot they were surveying, they just assigned one person to watch the snake and make sure everyone kept their distance. The snakes generally went on their way with minimal fuss.

Snakes dropping into boats is real, but it's because their natural escape behavior from sunning is to dive into the water, just like turtles. They lack of comprehension of canoes is certainly unfortunate, and I sure wouldn't want a venomous species feeling trapped at my feet in the boat. And, I have also witnessed this behavior in which swimming snakes approach boats sometimes - it's honestly a head-scratcher but I try to keep my cool and give them space and we go our separate ways.

Great info!

 

[Tsuga8]

And for those serpents that drop out of trees, consider paddling under an umbrella stun gun as both shield and sword.

A park ranger once used his taser to try to disentangle a python from a tourist's truck engine. It did not elicit the desired response. It did elicit a fecal response.

We ended up taking apart half the poor guy's engine before we got the snake out.

 

[GladMax]

My only point was that snakes, especially venomous ones and large constrictors, need to be treated with the same respect, attention and care we give to bears, big cats, alligators and venomous spiders. Bites and attacks, etc., may well be rare, but that doesn’t mean someone should be blasé about interactions.

Yes, Erica, I do feel the same way. Equate the dangers of bears and big cats with snakes. Except that I am lots scareder of snakes than bears. I am always watching for them, and when I see one I'm far more alarmed than when an oncoming dump truck crosses the double yellow.
And am never going to canoe anywhere there's alligators, period and I don't care what anyone says.
Spiders, year round average I probably see one Brown Recluse a day in my house. More than once a month they are on me, and I leave the house hot so I don't need bed sheets in the summer. Edit: I made a deal with them. 'I don't kill you and you don't bite me.' It's worked out pretty well. That summer was the only summer I didn't get any spider bites of any kind. Since I've gotten some and one was probably a Recluse bite: the swelling encircled my forearm. And it felt hot. Hot hot.
Snakes I feel the same way. "I'll watch out for you and leave you alone, you watch out for me and leave me alone." A rattlesnake was in my house once (presumably chased mice). I said: "Hey, wow, you're beautiful and lethal. I'm going to leave you alone, but this is my house and you're not welcome in it so go away." I can't say whether it was listening but it watched me as long as I spoke, and as soon as I stopped it calmly turned back into the corner flotsam and I never saw it again.
Dogs, horses, cows, cats, rabbits, sheep, chickens. All these animals I have seen individuals who are onrier than others of their ilk. I assume snakes might be same. Some a bit pissier.