About an hour ago I heard the dog barking and the wife scream outside in the pool area.
Although I had no idea what kind of snake he was at the moment, a quick look and I knew he wasn't venomous and there was no rush to remove him. So off I went to grab the camera.
This is my first Hognose I have ever seen in the wild. The hissing and show he put on was amazing and quit intimidating.
After I was finished shooting and a little coaxing trying to grab him he rolled over and played dead with his mouth wide open and a partially digested lizard hanging out of his mouth. The wife thought I killed him. Even after trying to roll him back over he continued to lay back over with his belly up and mouth wide open.
Great shots Dave. Years ago I had one in the yard and when I tried to move it, it regurgitated it's last meal and rolled in it. I stopped trying to move it. ~ Ron
I've never seen one of these bad boys, but man they look cool. I've never seen a snake fill a frame like that!
3 is definitely the coolest.
Jeff
Thanks Jeff! I'm glad you enjoyed seeing him.
They can flare their heads out very drastically like a Cobra does to make themself look more intimidating. Which, along with the loud hissing he was doing, worked on me pretty well.
Dave
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surfnron wrote:
Great shots Dave. Years ago I had one in the yard and when I tried to move it, it regurgitated it's last meal and rolled in it. I stopped trying to move it. ~ Ron
Thanks Ron! They must not be very common as this is the first one I have ever seen, and I spend a lot of time outdoors. I see they have a very large range though. The playing dead behavior is something I've never heard of before other than with some mammals like opossums. I wish I would have taken a shot of that but was worried I had stressed him out to much already. He was long gone a few minutes later.
One does not see the Eastern Hog-nosed snake but rarely. Because of this and the super shots..... you got my vote.
I have seen just one in Georgia, maybe two. I believe this snake is very local, and at least uncommon ... more likely rare I think. And of course, this all depends on where you are.
Quite a treat to see these excellent images of this snake.
One does not see the Eastern Hog-nosed snake but rarely. Because of this and the super shots..... you got my vote.
I have seen just one in Georgia, maybe two. I believe this snake is very local, and at least uncommon ... more likely rare I think. And of course, this all depends on where you are.
Quite a treat to see these excellent images of this snake.
Robert
Thank you for the kind comments and the vote Robert! I'm still excited to have had the opportunity to see and photograph this handsome guy. I hope to see him again and if I do, you can bet I'll be running for the camera again.
Dave
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kmunroe wrote:
sweet job on the snake Dave
Thank you!
Dave
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Fisherman wrote:
Wow!
That's what I said when I saw him. Thanks!
Dave
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dclark wrote:
Nice shots of an interesting subject. Thanks for the background story. I did not know the snake would play dead. Some people keep them as pets.
Dave
Thanks Dave! I was not aware of this behavior either until I did some quick research on him. Fascinating tactic I thought.
I had thought about keeping him for a little while but that was the school boy in me. At my age, I know it is best to simply relocate critters like this to a safe place nearby and let them free.
Dave
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tfoltz wrote:
#3 is my pick, really nice.
-Tim
Thank you Tim! Glad you enjoyed seeing them.
Dave
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morris wrote:
Excelent set Dave and I'm loving 3.
Morris
Thanks Morris! Sounds like #3 is the winner here.
Dave
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eeneryma wrote:
Being a city boy I had no idea what an eastern hognose was, so had to look. Excellent series Dave. I would have run the other way.😀
Hey Steve! Thanks for popping in over here and checking him out. Glad you enjoyed seeing him.
Once I got to see his eyes I knew there was no danger but boy did his hissing and flared out head trick me at first without my glasses on.
My fight or flight instinct has never worked properly. I've picked up live Copperheads before so one might say I've fallen out of the stupid tree a few too many times.
Thank you so much for your initial reaction upon encountering this snake.
Like to mention one more thing for all of us who love nature:
Because snakes crawl, when one of their species is extirpated from an area it is permanent. Think of the barriers alone to cross in order to re-establish a population. Impossible!
On the other end of the spectrum, because birds fly, they can repopulate an area quicker than other groups.
I have been wrong many times, but I would guess there are few (if any) projects out there directed at re-establishing a snake species into an area it has been extirpated from.
If I am sitting on a population of EHN snakes, I am thinking about protecting them, and maybe to re-program the bias that people apply to all snakes.
~ Ron