Okefenokee Watersnake Fight

I was paddling up the beautiful Suwannee, a blackwater river that is born within, and meanders throughout, the Okefenokee Swamp. Being overcast and cool, it was slow day for reptiles… as slow as the current that carried my canoe along. But on a sudden, I had that feeling. Birders know that feeling… a sense that somewhere nearby is a nice find.

​I have no idea how I spotted it. Its long, coiled, brown body perfectly matched the twisted, tan cypress roots upon which it basked.  A Brown Watersnake! These thick, heavy-bodied snakes are often mis-identified as the venomous Cottonmouth, which lurks in the same habitat.
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Although the watersnakes aren’t venomous, they are no less feisty.  Anyone who has had the experience of handling a watersnake knows their theatrics of writhing, striking, musking, and biting… anything to just be left alone! This individual didn’t disappoint in its performance.

iNaturalist observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/68688369