Swamp struck!
by Will Bird
| There was a time long ago in Kentucky when wetlands were
abundant. Now they have all but been destroyed, and what remain are only
fragments, devoid of the diversity that use to abound. Our wetlands were drained
to grow crops, mine coal, and to make room for people. Now that they are drained
it is unlikely that they will ever be restored, and even if they were it would
take a very long time for them to be truly re-established if they ever even
could be. Adding water to what use to be a wetland does return the water, but
if the surrounding lands have also been modified many species that were once
present may never return. The great wetlands of Kentucky are lost, but it is
still possible to catch glimpses of what once was. |
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| One special kind of wetland is the
swamp, and one special kind of swamp is the kind where a small river runs
through it. In this sort of swamp there are areas of stagnant waters as well
as steadily moving ones. There are areas of deep waters and those that are
shallow or even partially dry. This diverse array of microhabitats allows
for a great variety of plants and aquatic organisms.
There is a magical feature that can be added to this
arrangement that changes everything, and that is a heavily wooded hillside
with a south or southwest facing exposure. |
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| Finding a place
where all of these features are present in Kentucky is not easy any longer,
but they do exist. My first experience with such a place came by the hands of
an experienced local. Neither he nor anyone else in our party was prepared for
what was going to transpire. We were destined to visit a place known as a mecca
for wildlife but I had been to many such places before and so did not set my
hopes to high. Little did we know that we were going to be in the right place,
at the right time, with the ultimate set of conditions. It is in this type of swamp that an animal known as the trap jaw finds a most suitable home in Kentucky. At the time I had only seen wild cottonmouth in Florida and South Carolina. I had seen many specimens in zoos, including a specimen from Kentucky. However, for me, seeing an animal in a cage is not nearly as exciting as catching a glimpse of it in its natural environment. There is even more mystique surrounding this species in Kentucky because it is limited to the southwestern third of the Commonwealth and also prefers a somewhat specific type of habitat in this northern extreme of its range. Despite this fact I have grown up hearing tales about “water moccasins” attacking Kentuckians literally state-wide. One tale that many of you may be familiar with that
I hear all the time here in Kentucky is the tale of the child that jumped in
a pond and was soon attacked by a “nest” of water moccasins. In this
not-so-urban legend I always hear about the surface of the pond frothing and
foaming with cottonmouths and their venom. Often the corpse of the poor
child is never recovered…even after the pond is drained. As always, this
event happened to the sister of a guy’s brother-in-law that a friend of the
family knew 20 years back! |
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With a limited range, a specific habitat, my having never
seen one, and of course all of the tall tales associated with this species, it
should be clear that I was really excited when Phil Peak told me he had made
contact with a local Kentuckian who could show us some trap jaws. As it turned
out, our friend Dwight Good also knew this local and had sites of his own in
Western Kentucky as well. It was not long before we had ourselves a big herping trip planned in western Kentucky! This would be my first trip into the Jackson Purchase! |
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The big day arrived and Phil and I soon met up with Dwight, John, and Steve. We all piled up in Dwight’s vehicle and were on our way. I wish I had brought a hidden tape recorder that day as it was filled with comedy. Dwight kept making frog calls, John kept talking like cartoon characters, and Steve kept making quotes from the movie, “SlingBlade.” For those of you who have seen the film, Steve kept asking for, “sum-a-them french fried pertaters!” Even though it was our first meeting, it was as if we were long-time friends. We even argued like old friends! |
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| We soon learned that Dwight had plans for us to meet up
with his friends James and Kathryn who knew of a really neat area to herp. We
drove through a very remote place with a maze of dirt roads until we found
ourselves high on a bluff that over-looked Kentucky Lake. We soon learned that
this place, like so many others in Kentucky, had a rich and bloody history. As
it turns out, this site was one of three forts where the battle of Kentucky was
either won or lost depending on one’s view. I’d say it was lost, but that is
another story.
The Kentucky Lake is artificial and is the result of damming the Tennessee River. During the Civil War the high bluffs we were standing on over-looked the river. A gigantic canon that could spin 360 degrees was placed on the bluff. It was used to blow supply ships out of the river and could be turned to fire at anyone foolish enough to attack from behind. Below the bluffs were rock walls and it was here that we would herp. As we traversed the rock walls I thought of the people who had once done the same thing under fire from the enemy above. |
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| James and Kathryn soon arrived on
motorcycles and with Dwight’s help showed us how to hunt in this environment
that was very foreign to me. I had brought tongs, but James and Dwight
carried nothing but a coat hanger. I soon learned why.
There were tiny fissures all along the rock face that were way too small for tongs. They were soon coaxing midland water snakes out of the cracks like there was no tomorrow! |
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In order to get from one rock face to the next we had to get into the Kentucky Lake and go through the water. It was a rocky and treacherous walk and all of us except for Phil ended up falling many times. As always, Phil refused to leave his Cabbage Rake behind and was able to use it to steady himself. It was in this aquatic environment that the much awaited call was sounded. I believe it was James who first shouted, “Cottonmouth!!” Coat hangers were used to get the serpent to move just outside of the cracks and I then moved in and gently captured the trap jaw with my tongs. |
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| None of us had dared to bring our
cameras in the lake and so I temporarily bagged the snake so we could carry
it back and photograph it.
On our way back James was soon shouting for me to come look in a crack. When I got there I saw a gorgeous red milk snake deep in the rocks. James tried, but that one got away and so we made our way back to the group to take pictures of the cottonmouth. |
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After the photography we had a long climb back to the vehicle and made our way to a Wendy’s. It must have been sixty miles and I was snuggled in between the shirtless Young brothers! The Lake had left them quite slimy and sweaty. Yes, our relationship was advancing quite rapidly as I would not normally tolerate such close contact with shirtless strangers who were covered with river slime! Once at the Wendy’s our motley crew of herpers
horrified the poor employees. We stank of river muck and snake musk, were
covered in mud and slime, were loud and obnoxious, and kept coming back for more
food. James and Kathryn had left, but our party still checked in at well over
half a ton. We emptied a coke canister with our great thirst and the ketchup
counter was never the same after we left. |
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| Once on our way we began
to ask the Young brothers about what we should expect. They told us we would
be road cruising and that we should be very careful when we stepped out of
the car because it would be dark and one step off the road would land us in
the swamp. John said he expected to see a few cottonmouths, and that would
probably be about all. Even though we had seen a total of three earlier in
the day, we all looked forward to seeing more in a different Kentucky
county.
On our way to the location dusk fell and it began to rain. When we got ¼ mile from the location John stopped the car and told us to get ready. He pointed to a hill and told us that when we crested it we would see trap jaws. Little did he or anyone else in our party realize what lay beyond that hill! |
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