I made an extremely girly sound of surprise and alarm. (I feel no shame.) I then moved around so I could see in the side of the shrub.
Since I had already got an involuntary look at the head I knew it wasn't a rattler, so I kept my distance and started taking pictures like mad.
This is a gopher snake. Around here they're called bull snakes.
They can climb trees. There's a fun fact I discovered empirically.
They can mimic the behaviour of a rattlesnake, but this one didn't. Of course, I didn't get very close, either. These pictures are cropped and expanded.
These guys eat frogs and small rodents. They are constrictors, which means they don't use venom to kill.
Gopher snakes can live as long as fifteen years, and they try to stay in the same territory.
They lay eggs twice a year.
He looked at me one last time
And then slithered away.
3 comments:
I LOVE it! The way you tell the story of the photos and how clear the detail in the images looks! Such an awesome experience! Thank you for sharing!
You're welcome! I'm glad it isn't scaring people. I was afraid everyone would be freaked out by seeing a snake so close to eye-level.
You're welcome! I'm glad it isn't scaring people. I was afraid everyone would be freaked out by seeing a snake so close to eye-level.
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