R. K. Cook's video: Scenes From A Northern Water Snake Den

HANK WILDING'S JOURNAL: Maybe you're terrified of snakes. Maybe you find snakes fascinating. Maybe you find them revolting. Where snakes are concerned, people tend to have strong opinions. Me? I love 'em. And I treat them with respect and a healthy degree of wariness. Take this den of Northern Water Snakes I lucked upon in May of 2016 in a southern-facing rock outcrop along Little Cotton Indian Creek in Henry County, Georgia. Although I know these snakes aren't aggressive unless provoked, the sight of a big knot of them made my hair (what little I've got left, anyway) stand on end. I inched close enough to get some halfway decent pix and live action footage, combined here in a tidy little serpent sideshow. This particular outcrop is prime real estate for snakes. It's also home to Copperheads and Water Moccasins, which the Northern Water Snake strongly resembles, to its great detriment. Many are wantonly killed out of fear and ignorance. Ole Hank's a nature appreciator, not a nature authority, but the absence of heat-sensitive facial pits on these specimens, among other indications, distinguishes the specimens in this video from our friend the Cottonmouth. Ahnuvia, you used to keep snakes in jars, didn't you? I thought so. Ole Hank always had a soft spot for tomboys. Why are you still sittin' there reading this hooptedoodle? Get your clodhoppers on and go wilding!