Question about Northern Water Snakes

[melissaisdown]

Can anybody speak to the temperament of these snakes?

The reason I ask isn't because I'm planning on walking up to one and handling it or anything. It's just that the habitat I herp at has a lot of these. In the past they're usually on the river's edge basking and they don't seem to mind me walking by them or even getting kind of close.

But yesterday I found one. I heard it splash into the water and ran to try and get a snapshot of it swimming. What startled me was that after a few seconds the snake stopped trying to hide under debris and started swimming back toward me. If I hadn't backed away I'm pretty sure it would have surfaced onto the rock I was standing on.

Does anybody on here have much experience encountering these water snakes? Are they typically aggressive and/or territorial? Or are they like most snakes where if you leave them alone they do the same?

The water at the gorge hike along gets deep right around where I've seen a number of these snakes. There aren't any dirt banks at the sides or rocks to step across and until yesterday I was thinking of just putting on waders (it's no more than 3 feet deep) and continuing on down. But if the snake is going to swim after me even if I'm not bothering it, I may have to change my plans.


(Sorry that was a long explanation for a simple question) Thanks!

[infernalis]

They are harmless, a close cousin to the common garter snake.

Generally quite shy, and prefer to stay clear of people.

However if one bites, it's non venemous and will not hurt much more than a pinch.

[infernalis]

From last summer.....

[melissaisdown]

Thank you!

[Bel5191]

The ones I have encountered while fishing have been quite defensive. I've seen video of them being nasty but that's just a small sampling. The majority are probably half decent.

[Mose]

Around here they are very shy and dive into the water at the first sight of a human. It is extremely hard to catch them, and sometimes it is even hard to get close enough to photograph them if they are by the water. You certainly don't have to worry about them chasing you down or being territorial. Like almost all wild animals, if they can, they will choose to flee. If they are cornered or harassed, they will defend themselves.

They tend to be grumpy, but only if you are dumb enough to grab them (like me). Here's a juvenile that I caught and released a few summers ago. The blood isn't from the snake...

[Coffee Black]

They are cool little snakes. Last one I caught was a few years ago and it went into a helicopter spin while musking. Not fun but definitely funny. I generally just observe these days. Herping here isn't great so I try not to stress the animals I do find.

[Pareeeee]

I've caught some here. They didn't even attempt to bite me, but are a bit flighty, like garter snakes.