This may seem like a strange time of year to ask this question, but after a recent visit to the Brown County State Park Nature Center and a face-to-face at look the resident timber rattlesnake (see below), I have to ask. Do you suffer from Ophidiophobia? After all it is one of the ten most common phobias present among humans. Walking through the woods in spring, summer, and early fall, I often keep a close eye on the ground. I am careful to watch the sunny side of logs as I step over them. I am also careful around rock outcroppings as I walk in the woods of southern Indiana. Why so careful? I am simply watching for snakes and avoiding a chance encounter with these terrestrial inhabitants. Although I don’t think of myself as ophidiophobic, I do prefer to see a snake before it sees me.
For many the thought of a snake conjures up a primordial fear. Ophidiophobia or also commonly called herpetophobia is an unhealthy fear of snakes. We don’t have to look very far to see how this fear has been perpetuated through history. Adam and Eve accepted the apple from the serpent and suddenly understand the difference of good from evil. Medusa’s head swam with snakes. The unbelieving Israelites were bitten by serpents in the wilderness. More recently, Hollywood brought us Snakes on a Plane. Throughout the religions and folklore of the world, the snake is treated as both good and evil. In spite of our phobias and religious beliefs the snake plays a very important role in our natural environment, though we need to be careful around a few.
Indiana is home to four pit vipers or venomous snakes. Often referred to as poisonous snakes, this is actually a misnomer. If a snake were poisonous it would be deadly or otherwise detrimental to our health to eat one. In fact, I have found rattlesnake on more than one restaurant menu during my travels in the southwest. A venomous snake, on the other hand, is one that possesses a mechanism for delivering a neurotoxin into the blood stream of its victim. These are the ones we need to be careful about, but not unnecessarily fear.
Of the nineteen species of venomous snakes found in the United States, the timber and massasauga rattlesnake, copperhead, and western cottonmouth (also called a water moccasin) are all found in the Indiana. They are referred to as pit vipers because they each contain a small sensory pit below each eye that allows them to aim when striking warm blooded prey.
Listed as an endangered species in Indiana, the timber rattlesnake is present in south central and southern Indiana in areas with heavily forested hills. Growing up to five feet long, this snake feeds on small mammals and birds. Brown County is home to one of the larger concentrations of these snakes. There have been a number of recent sightings in Brown County State Park and the nature center keeps a rescued timber rattlesnake on display.
The massasauga rattlesnake, was once present throughout much of the state but is now found only in northern Indiana. It is often found in grasslands, undergrowth in marshes, fens or lake margins, dry prairie, and hay and grain fields where it feeds on mammals, birds, and other snakes. Growing from 19 to 25 inches long, it is an endangered species in Indiana like the Timber Rattlesnake. A very secretive snake, the Massasauga feeds mainly on small rodents.
The western cottonmouth, rare in Indiana has been confirmed in two isolated spots near Jasper in Dubois County and the other in Harrison County. I often have people tell me that have seen a cottonmouth in a local pond, lake, or river. Instead of a cottonmouth, they have seen a northern watersnake. This aquatic snake, growing up to 53 inches long, feeds primarily on fish, but it will also eat other snakes, amphibians, and small mammals. It can be quite aggressive if disturbed and it will strike. Other than there simply aren’t any cottonmouths in this area, pay close attention to the shape of the head. The cottonmouth has the classic diamond-shaped head of the pit viper while the northern watersnake has a more oblong head. Another differentiator is the swimming habits of each snake. The northern watersnake will swim with just its head and neck above the surface of the water while the entire body of the cottonmouth appears to be floating on top of the water.
The last species of pit viper found in Indiana is the Northern Copperhead. Of all the pit vipers this is the species we are most likely to encounter. It is found in the Ohio River valley and north to Franklin County in the east and Fountain and Vermillion counties to the west. Typically found in hilly and rocky areas they grow to three feet long and feed mainly on small rodents and insects.
I encourage you to do more research about our native pit vipers. You can check out a few of the field guides and references I use in the Field Guide and Reference Library of my website. Instead of letting Ophidiophobia overcome you, gain some understanding of these secretive reptiles and become familiar with their habits and habitat. Respect them for the contribution they make to our natural environment and gain some healthy respect for their space in the outdoors.
