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Posted by chrish on March 31, 2003 at 22:36:21:
In Reply to: Re: Water Snake posted by lkelley on March 31, 2003 at 15:29:50:
"NO I dont agree, the snake came toward us several times."
Of course it did. You were an object on the surface of the water and the snake was probably looking for a place to bask, just like they do on floating logs.
"He was seeing us clearly."
Snakes in general have very poor eyesight. If, by this statement, you mean "the snake saw an object sitting up out of the water" then you are correct.
If you mean "the snake could see that it was two humans in a boat", then you have a rather inflated view of the snakes eyesight and cognitive abilities.
"The first time we moved to get out of his way. The second time we did not have time to move, he came directly at us."
Of course, he was probably trying to climb out of the water onto the object he saw and bask.
"Can they climb into a boat?"
Sure, they can climb up propeller shafts or oars. They usually can't climb up the sides of a boat directly.
But what did you think he was going to do? Do you think it had some sort of "malice aforethought"?
Next time, I suggest you sit still and watch the snake to see what it does. You will find that it will swim up to your boat, may try to climb aboard (where it will probably fail and give up). If it does get aboard it will sit still and enjoy the sun. As soon as someone in the boat moves and the creature realizes that there are other living organisms in the boat with it, it will dive overboard and swim away as fast as it can.
BTW - I have been studying snakes for over 30 years and have dealt with thousands of wild snakes, including probably over a thousand water snakes. I'm not trying to be flippant and imply that you weren't concerned. I'm just trying to reassure you that should it happen again, you have nothing to worry about. Keep fishing and admire the snakes as he cruises by.
