Don't sell the kayak! Snakes falling from Lowcountry tree 'not something to worry about'

If you're worried about a Lowcountry rattlesnake falling from a tree and biting you while kayaking, let that creepy thought slither away.

On Monday, authorities said a man was bitten multiple times by a rattlesnake after it fell from a tree into his kayak on the Edisto River the day before. It left him hospitalized.

On Tuesday afternoon, WCIV television station in Charleston reported that the man was bitten when he picked up the snake in the water, not knowing it was a small rattler. The snake, based on new reports from a family member, did not plunge from a tree and go on the attack.

Ecologists say there have long been stories of venomous snakes falling from trees into boats, but they are rarely true.

So don't add falling rattlesnakes to your list of fears.

"It's just a very rare occurrence," said ecologist P.J. Perea of the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory at the Savannah River Site. "It's not something to worry about. It's probably the least likely thing to happen on the water. It's an unusual, but not impossible, occurrence."

First, it's odd for a rattlesnake to be up a tree, he said.

Rattlesnakes are prodigious swimmers, but not known as climbers.

"Generally, the rattlesnake is more of a rodent eater," he said. "But it is also opportunistic."

At this time of year, that opportunity could be birds nesting in trees, and baby birds are something the rattlesnake would pursue.

Based on earlier reports, Perea surmised the snake could have felt cornered if it fell into a kayak and reacted by lashing out.

"Generally, when a rattlesnake sees a person, its first reaction is to leave," Perea said.

Will Dillman, S.C. Department of Natural Resources herpetologist, said, "Generally, snakes don't want to have anything to do with humans."

In five years in the job, Dillman has not heard of a rattlesnake falling from a tree.

"Our general recommendation is to not interact with a snake," Dillman said. "The snake bites we see are often when someone sees a snake and then attempts to interact with the snake."

Whit Gibbons, herpetologist, author, and educator, has been watching snakes in the South Carolina Lowcountry for more than 60 years.

"I have seen in my life two rattlesnakes climb a tree, and it certainly was not out over water," said the professor emeritus of ecology, University of Georgia, and former head of the Environmental Outreach and Education program at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.

He said mistaken identity of snakes is common. And that the most common way to get bitten by a snake is to try to pick it up.

"Don't mess with snakes," he said. "Or don't mess with anything in the wild. Would you pick up a raccoon?"

Perea said the best advice is to stay calm when encountering a snake, even if it falls into your boat.

It's not rare for water snakes to climb trees hanging out over a river.

"A lot of boaters and anglers report seeing cottonmouths in trees," Perea said.

The cottonmouth water moccasin and the rattlesnake are among only six venomous snakes of the 38 species in the Lowcountry.

But Perea said the snakes they report seeing rarely turn out to be the venomous cottonmouths.

"We did a study and 90 percent of the snakes we counted in the trees were banded water snakes, northern water snakes or red-bellied water snakes," Perea said. "People often mistake them for a cottonmouth because they have similar color and a similar shaped head. Cottonmouths are not as much tree-climbers."

That still doesn't mean they would make good boat partners. Unlike the rattlesnake, the water snakes are aggressive, Perea said.

"Anything that lives near the water, and is a snake, kind of has an attitude," he said. "They tend to strike first and ask questions later."

This story was originally published May 22, 2018 at 2:03 PM with the headline "Don't sell the kayak! Snakes falling from Lowcountry tree 'not something to worry about'."