With cool temperatures creeping in during this time of year, encounters with snakes often increase as they take advantage of heat-gathering hard surfaces (rocks, logs, roads, trails etc.) to bask and help regulate their body temperature. Park users should be cautious, and particularly with the potential for encounters with Eastern Copperheads that may be crossing or basking on trails. Copperheads are not aggressive by nature and prefer to remain undetected, relying on cryptic camouflage for protection. However, this great camouflage can also be the cause for close encounters with people and pets. So, please, always look carefully where you step.
To help you identify them, some key features of Copperheads include:
• Hour-glass shaped banding pattern along body
• Elliptical shaped pupils (like cats)
• Triangular shaped head
• Young copperheads also exhibit a bright, yellow-tipped tail
To learn more about snakes and how to identify them, visit https://mocoparks.org/3jfdXZm and check the “Living with Snakes”
