The non-venomous Gopher Snake puts on quite a show. We spotted a four-footer right at the edge of the paved road leading into camp. It was getting warm, and the snake might have warmed up by sitting on the tar. At any rate, it was moving fairly fast for a Gopher Snake, but I interrupted its path with a stick. It assumed a striking position, widened its jaws, and vibrated its tail in the dry leaves. That would be a pretty convincing imitation of a rattlesnake to most people and other animals.
When I picked it up, the constrictor behavior kicked in. Besides throwing several coils around my wrist, it actually tied a knot. When I set it back down, it immediately crawled for cover. The second time I put a stick in its path it coiled again and hissed. The hiss from the mouth and the rattling tail sounded remarkably similar. I was close enough to tell the sound was coming from both ends.
Gopher snakes will strike if provoked, but are basically harmless. If I had a little more time, and could have held it for a few more minutes, it would relax and crawl on me without biting. At least that's what they usually do. My son kept one in a terrarium for a couple of weeks and handled it every day. It got tame enough to hang over his shoulders and wrap around his neck and arms without biting or attempting to squeeze hard. A nice pet, but illegal. We returned it to the place where we found it and wished it a happy remaining life. There were a few other highlights from this morning's hike that I'll post separately. The most exciting to me was finding the same Goldenrod Crab Spider I posted here last Wednesday. I assume it was the same spider as it was on the same plant in the same position - just waiting for food to fly into its grasp.
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