MARYLAND (DC News Now) — Wildlife experts are reminding people heading out to enjoy the trails and campsites, this 4th to also keep a watchful eye out for potentially dangerous animals, that could end up putting a damper on your holiday. But they are also emphasizing that while the risk of being bitten by a snake is low, people still need to keep their guard up and be mindful of wildlife when enjoying the outdoors this weekend.
“You probably have as much chance of being hit by lightning as you do being the hippo then bit by a venomous snake,” Scott Smith, a herpetologist at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, explains.
Wildlife experts are reminding explorers and people going out to enjoy the outdoors to be mindful of animals in their natural habitat. Specifically, they are reminding people to keep an eye out for the copperhead snake which is native to the state of Maryland.
Smith described the pattern of the copperhead as a banded pattern, similar to the shape of a Hershey’s Kiss with a rust-colored head. Juvenile copperheads can also have a green fluorescent tail which will disappear after their first winter. Copperheads are also pit vipers meaning they have a bit between their eyes and nostrils that hold infrared heat sensors. This allows copperheads to detect even the slightest of changes in temperature, usually indicative of prey like mice or other small mammals.
“People rarely see them because they’re really well camouflaged. They’re not aggressive, and at least during the heat of the summer, they’re often nocturnal which means they spend a lot of their activity period at night when they’re hunting,” Smith explains. “They’re often in leaf litter underneath are waiting at the base of trees or next to logs for small mammals.”
Copperheads are unlikely to strike at humans unless they are provoked, like if they are accidentally stepped on by a passerby. Smith says copperheads will also nestle themselves under rock outcroppings or under bushes, often hidden from plain view.
Jimmy Leonard, a pharmacist and clinical toxicologist at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, explains that many snake bites reported to the Maryland Poison Center, the regional poison center, are people who were wearing improper footwear when enjoying the outdoors.
“A lot of the cases where people have been bitten on the foot they’re not wearing real shoes are essentially wearing flip flops, as opposed to hiking boots,” Leonard said.
The Maryland Poison Center has already received around 20 calls for snake bites since May of this year. Leonard explains that the toxins from a copperhead bite will cause significant pain and swelling and recommends immediately seeking medical care after the bite. He went on to explain that hospitals also carry anti-venom to combat the toxins. He also says ice will not help the matter and could make the swelling and pain worse, as it will concentrate the toxin into one area. He also warned people to not follow common myths if they are bit by a snake.
“They’ve [medical professionals] looked at whether you can remove the venom by sucking it out and you can’t, right so so anything you’re doing, you’re just introducing more trauma,” Leonard warned. “If you’re going to try to cut the wound and suck it out. You’re traumatizing the wound, and you’re also you’ve got some of these mouth bacteria on that wound.”
Smith says many people kill snakes they encounter in the wild, especially if the snake has bitten someone, but he warns against this.
“It has been illegal to kill snakes since 1993. Snakes provide us an ecological service they keep small rodent populations down, and snakes depending on the species have a wide variety of diets,” Smith explained. “We can expect to see increases in their prey populations because the snakes aren’t there to help control them. So there really is a balance in nature. And when we upset that balance, things go awry things become unbalanced.”
The Maryland Poison Center also recommends immediately seeking medical care and elevating the bite area as well as removing any restricting items like rings, bracelets, or tight clothing. The Maryland Poison Center can also be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-222-1222.