Seahorse Key is a cottonmouth research site of Dr. Harvey Lillywhite of the University of Florida. In 2003, I had the privilege to visit this extraordinary place as part of a graduate interview (it is otherwise closed to people as a wildlife refuge). Seahorse Key is home to a large population of cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorous). Interestingly, the adults only eat fish dropped by nesting seabirds. Since seabirds only nest on this island for half the year, these snakes typically only eat during half of the year. Dispite this potential limitation, the snakes are common and large, in fact more common and larger than any cottonmouth population most people are likely to see.

The day I was here, we radiotracked 8 adult cottonmouths and saw another 5. Three of the tracked individuals and 5 others were found in a space no larger than an average apartment. Part of this is because Seahorse cottonmouths form male-female pairs long before the actual breeding season. This phenomenon is thought to ensure mating rights to only the largest males but is not well understood and is the only known example of 'monogamy' in snakes. As we moved into the aforementioned area, I started seeing what I thought were discarded tires. The particular snake we were looking for was close, but I was still surprised when I nearly stepped on her. Nearby was her male, and I realized that the 'tires' were actually 4 large adult male cottonmouths, each with a smaller female nearby.

I tried very hard to photograph pairs together but few of my photos were acceptable. Instead, I have presented one male in several different poses. I found him, like many others, coiled next to his girl at the base of a cabbage palm. As I neared, the female darted under the dense palm fronds at the base of the tree while the much larger (~4 feet, big around as my arm) male stayed in the open. After a photo, I poked him with my snake hook for a better position and he too slid under the fronds and around the tree. Moving around the other side, I tried to corner him for a head on shot, but he was very good at avoiding me. Finally, I poked into the fronds with my hook and he burst out head up and very aggressive. He stayed in this posture for minutes, not moving but daring me to come closer. As a scientific skeptic-in-training, its very difficult for me to assess intelligence in other animals, but I feel that this snake knew his ability, had a good idea of mine, and was prepared to defend himself, his female, and his territory. I snapped a few shots of his pose, smiled, and backed away. As I backed off, so did he, and I'm sure he felt that we finally understood one another.

Interestingly, none of the cottonmouths we found ever displayed the open-mouth posture which displays their namesake. I assume this is because there are few predators on the island. Cottonmouths in general are a much maligned species. I grew up on stories of their fierceness (in western VA, where they do not occur!), but they are actually quite calm unless you try to physically restrain them. Even then, of the 50 or so cottonmouths I have caught (with hooks or tongs), only one or two has actually tried to bite. Watersnakes, on the other hand, can bite with little provocation, which leads me to believe that most ferocious "cottonmouths" are actually watersnakes.