Venomous copperheads inhabit Western Pennsylvania's woodlands, but experts say they pose no cause for panic
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Cat-like pupils are a defining feature of the copperhead, as well as diamond-shaped head and distinctive brown bands.
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No other wild creature is the source of so much unjustified fear. Just hearing the word "copperhead" has ruined countless hikes and discouraged camp outs.
But naturalists contend that the dread of these snakes is out of proportion with the danger they pose. Irrational fear of these reptiles, conservationists contend, also results in needless destruction of other harmless snakes that superficially resemble copperheads.
While the northern copperhead is most certainly venomous, its secretive nature and relative small size make a tragedy unlikely. According to U. S. Poison Control centers, the chance of fatality from a copperhead bite is about 1 in 5,000. Experts out looking for copperheads encounter them infrequently.
"If copperheads were as common as people think, I'd be thick into them all the time," said Terry Laux of Freeport, a self-taught naturalist and volunteer educator at Cook Forest State Park. "We are out all the time, in good habitat for snakes, and we just don't see copperheads like you'd expect from all the paranoia."
Laux helped compile field data for the Pennsylvania Herpetological Atlas Project, which tracks the conservation status of the state's snakes, lizards, turtles and amphibians. On June 6 at 1:30 p.m., as part of "Herp Week" at Cook Forest State Park, Laux will present a seminar to teach outdoor enthusiasts to distinguish copperheads from water snakes and milk snakes, which are often mistaken for the feared viper.
Copperheads are medium-size, heavy-bodied snakes. Adult males average about 30 inches in Pennsylvania; females 24 inches. Rich earth tones of tan, dark brown and copper cover the snake's entire body. Darker hourglass-shape bands cross the body from neck to tail. The head is broad, lance-shaped, copper in color and otherwise unmarked.
Copperheads live across Pennsylvania's southern two-thirds. They are not known to occur in the state's northern tier of counties. They are closely related to the larger and more pugnacious cottonmouth of Southern swamps and streams.
Copperhead color and pattern provide excellent camouflage among leaf litter and rocks. Naturalists consider them "ambush predators." The snakes lay coiled and concealed, waiting for a mouse, vole, frog or bird to stray near enough to strike.
First Published June 5, 2011 12:00 am
