Rangers advise people to avoid copperheads

Richland Parish residents have been seeing more copperhead snakes than usually during the past week.

Poverty Point State Historic Site Ranger Mark Brink said the snakes are more active now because it is their mating season.

“Copperheads do mate in the spring which is why more people are seeing them right now,” he said.

As the name suggests, these snakes have a copper-brown or tan color, and they have darker spots or markings along their bodies. 

“There are several ways to identify a copperhead, but the easiest and safest way is to look at their pattern,” Brink said. “The dark spots you see on a copperhead will have an hourglass shape. So, the markings are wider on the sides and thinner in the middle.”

He added that if you look at a copperhead from the side, those hourglass spots will touch the ground. Most similarly patterned snakes (like corn snakes) don’t have markings that make it all the way to the belly.

Copperheads also have cat-like eyes and large diamond shaped heads. The head will be wider than the rest of the body. Adults can reach about three feet in length and they are generally fairly thick and stocky.

“The juveniles are the easiest to spot, because they have bright yellow-green or chartreuse tails,” Brink added.

He said the best policy for dealing with copperheads is to give them as wide a berth as possible.

“All in all, the best policy is to give snakes their space regardless of species,” Brink said. “So, the best thing to do if you see a snake in your yard is to keep your distance.”

Richland Today

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Rayville, LA 71269
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