Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma
Western Cottonmouth

Union Co., Illinois. October 1977.

I have seen more Cottonmouths than any other species of venomous snake - half a thousand, I would guess.  That's not bragging, really; in some parts of southern Illinois, they are the most common snake to be found, and I visit there quite often. I have seen them in the water, next to water, and quite far away from water; some of the latter finds make me wonder if some Cottonmouths have given up the aquatic lifestyle for wooded hillsides. I never tire of seeing them, wherever they may be.

There much more for me to tell, and it is told in the Shawnee Moccasins herp journal entry, among others,  in Notes From The Field.

These two pictures are among my favorites, the first of a juvenile found on a wooded hillside, and the second of an adult swimming in La Rue Scatters.