Interesting (and nasty) Cottonmouth Story
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Posted by Chance on September 03, 2002 at 22:02:29:
My friend and I were doing a little canoeing down the Buffalo River here in Arkansas last Saturday and had an interesting event happen to us (or well, to me anyway). We were cruising down the bank, as there had been many spottings of lots of Nerodia in and around the water, and I saw a black "worm-looking" think on a rock that dipped into the water. I didn't see the rest of the body until we pulled the boat about, and then I realized what it was: a young cotton about 15" or so in length. So of course we have to catch this snake, as ANY hot found here in Arkansas seems to be quite the rarity. Well, we get him tonged, and thanks to the wonders of the Pillstrom tongs, he drops off and lands in the canoe. As he starts slithering here and there, with my friend still in the back, it was panic time right? Again, thanks to those ever so wonderful tongs, because the bottom is shorter than the top, it's damn near impossible to tong a snake off of a flat surface, when it keeps flattening its body out. So panicking myself now, I do the only thing I can think of, as this little guy obviously would not stay on a hook. I pin him with the hook and go ahead and get him behind the head, lift his body, then the weirdest thing happened. He actually sprayed, not just emitted, but SPRAYED musk right into my face. I mean he was dead on. I've never known cottons to do this, so I'd be curious to see if it has happened to anyone else. After washing my face off many times in the river, I still smell like cotton/skunk, so I just said what the heck. He's a cute little guy (or gal) with a massive head for its body size. He'll make a nice edition to my native hot collection for some educational shows. Anyway, thanks for reading.
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