Fishermen Co-Exist With Copperhead

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — An environmental conservation officer on patrol had a close encounter of the 'phew' kind in Stony Point. On Aug. 2, ECO Corey Hornicek was patrolling when he noticed a couple of fishermen wearing waders standing in a small public pond.

He watched them for a while, and then approached and asked if they could come ashore to show him their fishing licenses.

The two law-abiding young men were happy to show their licenses, as well as pictures of the fish they had caught, DEC officials said. One had caught a Chain Pickerel and the other a small Largemouth Bass, both of which were released.

As the ECO began to leave, one of the gentleman calmly told Hornick about a “pretty cool” snake coiled up not far from where the officer was standing.

Hornicek carefully went in for a closer look. Careful was good. He identified the snake as a Northern Copperhead, one of New York’s three native venomous snakes species.

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The copperhead is an attractively-patterned, venomous snake with a pinkish-tan color superimposed on darker brown to chestnut colored saddles that are narrow at the spine and wide at the sides. The top of the head is usually copper in color, hence its name. Although not as widespread, this species is found in habitat similar to that of the timber rattlesnake. The copperhead primarily eats small rodents, but will take anything from caterpillars to small birds. The young are born live and have a sulphurous-yellow tip on their tail that is used as a lure to entice prey. Length: two to three feet, rarely to 40 inches.