This was sent to me by a friend. I don’t know if he originated it or just passing it on but I thought it was worth posting here. All my life I’ve been told not to kill black snakes because they kill poisonous snakes, But this is the first time I’ve actually seen proof….! The guy who snapped these photos said the rattler was still rattling all the way down!!! ( photo / image / picture from jbest123's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from jbest123's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from jbest123's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from jbest123's Garden )
WOW what a great set of photographs. I don't think I've ever seen one snake eat another before. That rattler should keep the black snake fed for a good while. :-D
I'll have to try to remember that. Plus... I need to make sure that Sassy Marie, the dog, knows her colors.
You know, J--that snake looks like a king snake to me. When I was working over there I would do quite a bit of hiking in my spare time and I encountered a wide variety of animals of all kinds. So many in fact that I bought a couple of simple animal books which I took with me on my hikes. I had noticed black snakes, blue racers and of course king snakes...as well as a variety of other poisonous and non-poisonous species. The usa is a fascinating country in terms of its wildlife and plants. Anyway...what do you think about my guess?
Black and speckled king snakes do kill poisonous snakes such as rattle snakes and copperheads. However, at least one black snake IS POISONOUS, the cottonmouth. http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/commo ... kes?page=1 This is the Missouri Department of Conservation website on snakes. It shows you how to tell the difference between harmless and venomous snakes. I am terrified of snakes, but having 3 boys made it necessary for me to learn more about them. My oldest was 12 before I had to confess to them that yes, I was terrified of snakes. I do not deliberately go out and kill them, but will kill a poisonous snake in self defense if necessary. I have been bitten by a copperhead and spent a few days in the hospital, and it was extremely painful. I wont get chummy with them, but if I meet a harmless snake, I can make a wide curve around it and go my way. I do appreciate them killing poisonous snakes and keeping rodents at bay. Dont ever get it up close to me though!
Only black snake that I've ever seen in my life (up close) - Is the Cobra... It too will eat all other snakes, but will also kill you upon sight. We actually have 3 types of Cobras here, the brown desert Cobra (which can easily hide in the sand), and the black one, which is not as common as the brown one. However the black one (which sometimes looks a dark shade of silver in direct sunlight) can even spit venom up to 15 feet - And so can even blind horses! Which is why equines go berserk when they encounter it. The 3rd type is the giant King Cobra (which only dwells in dense forestland). However there is now also a new and growing headache over here - The Black Mamba... Although not exactly a native of these parts, it is believed that a pair of them were once smuggled here for someone to keep as exotic pets. But they somehow got away, and now are freely breeding near the mangrove forests around Karachi city... My own experience with snakes hasn't exactly been a pleasant one. As they were the first murder attempt on my life... This I'm talking of 30 years ago. Enemies of my father knew that he had a child in the home (me), who was fond of playing in the garden a lot - So one day they threw a pair of black Cobras over the compound wall, in the hope that they would bite and kill me, while making it all look like an unfortunate accident... The plan however failed, as our pet Dog (God bless her soul) saw and instantly realized the threat - And so she (despite herself not yet being fully grown) dragged me away from there, and also very smartly alerted everyone else to the danger! So the Cobras were quickly found and killed! But my mother then became seriously worried - That I may get a phobia of snakes for my entire life. So very early on (at around the age of 6), I was taught how to kill all types of snakes, by all known methods. So since that day, as a rule, if I see a snake (be it of any type), I'll kill it upon sight!
When I was very young... maybe around 7 years old. I was at my grandparents house and saw a snake and thought I was doing a good thing by killing it. Turns out it was a king snake... and my butt got a good spanking. You'd think I'd have learned to tell the difference way back then.
I really wish that we too (in Southern Pakistan) had something like this black snake - A natural enemy of other poisonous snakes. But alas, where statistically speaking 60% of the snakes in the world are non-poisonous - Nearly 95% of the snakes here in my part of the world are extremely venomous. However, we too have a creature here that kills all snakes. It's locally known a Navaala, but in the rest of the world it's know as the Mongoose. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdg9gkmWsEA This creature is actually a lot like the Honey Badger, but is not bad tampered, and believe it or not - Also make for a very affectionate family pet, thus is very friendly with kids, and is damn intelligent too (aside from being loyal as a Dog)!
If I lived where you are S-H, I would have several mongooses [or is the plural mongeese?] for pets. I just could not deal with all of those poisonous snakes around.
I'm afraid of snakes ever since when I was a kid. So whatever type of snake that is. It doesn't matter. We will get rid of it ASAP. Most people here see all snakes as poisonous or life threatening.
Well, I don't think you can keep more than 2 of them at a time - And that too only if one is female and the other male. Otherwise they may start fighting each other out of jealousy (yes, they can be a bit territorial)... A neighbour of mine (who also became a very good friend) soon had a very bad experience when he moved in here. The following is what he told me almost 20 years ago, word for word: The phone rang at his home, but he (my neighbour) didn't want to move away from his couch (I think he and I were both watching WWF Wrestlemania 9 at our homes). So in frustration, his wife had to come downstairs to answer it. So first she hurled a few profanities at him (for being so lazy) - Than she picked up the phone. And so coiled in the phone's receiver cord - There was a baby leaf nosed viper, (yes even the babies are very poisonous)... So when the receiver was right next to her face - Is when she realized that she had also picked up a snake! Anyway, long story short - They soon killed that snake. But my neighbour's wife for a while thought that this was a very sick prank that her husband had played on her - However he continued to maintain his story, that he wasn't picking up the phone, as he knew it would be his mother-in-law at the other end (which was the case)... In the end, they got a mongoose for a pet, and for as long as they lived next to me - They never had another snake issue. However they often kept finding mutilated snake body parts in their driveway! Still, keeping a mongoose is not for everyone. My neighbour was very good with pets all his life, so he knew what it took to keep a creature like that happy. Because once domesticated, a mongoose will always be running a mock in your home 24/7! That creature is extremely energetic, very intelligent (and so can easily understand language too, like a Dog), but perpetually playful and knotty at all times - Thus not exactly obedient (but very friendly otherwise, when domesticated that is)... But you know something Stevenielsen? Often some very rare cancer fighting medicines too are derived from the venom of poisonous snakes, (believe it or not). So instead of killing them, if we could just capture them - Than the pharmaceutical researchers will gladly take them off our hands. And what's more is that they will even sometimes pay good money for a live healthy snake that is full of poison - Not that we need the money, I'm just saying that if there was a safe way (in which we face zero risk) of capturing a poisonous snake. Than I'd gladly donate them to medical research. At the very least, they will make more anti-venom from them (which too goes a long way when it comes to saving lives)... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R_zv5_6yYk
