Drew C. Wilson
Havelock News
http://www.havenews.com/news/0in-5994-style-span.html
Havelock News
http://www.havenews.com/news/0in-5994-style-span.html
When Kim Waters found a copper colored snake curled up on some decorative rocks next to her backyard swimming pool the first thing she did was call Havelock Police.
“I have a small dog. That’s why I had to call,” Waters said.
Officer William Pressler responded to the home at 215 Manchester Road Thursday morning.
The city’s animal control officer, Kim Van Houten, was in New Bern at the time so Pressler and Waters had to wait as the snake lay still, not moving from its apparent nap in the sun.
Pressler described the snake over the radio to Van Houten as being copper colored with a V-shaped head and splotches.
“Stay away from it,” said Van Houten in return.
Upon arrival Van Houten identified the snake as a copperhead, one of North Carolina’s venomous snakes.
“It was right by her pool by some decorative rocks,” Van Houten said. “It was curled up like it was sunning.”
“I poked him with the snake stick and he didn’t move,” Van Houten said, “so we took it out into the grass and made sure he was dead.” Van Houten decapitated the two-foot long viper on the spot and put in a bag.
“It’s the kind of snake you don’t want to be messing with,” Van Houten said.
“I’ve caught plenty of them,” she said. “They’re all over the place.”
North Carolina has the highest annual frequency of snakebites in the nation with 19 bites per 100,000 residents, according to WebMD, which also said the nation has 7,000 bites per year yet an average of only four deaths per year.
Van Houten doubted that Havelock’s recent rains had anything to do with this snake’s appearance.
“It’s a little late for him to be coming up because of the rains,” she said.
“He picked those rocks to sun on. I don’t know why he was dead. He didn’t have any bite marks on him,” Van Houten said.
Van Houten gets lots of snake calls. She encourages people not to kill snakes but to call her instead.
“There are endangered species out there,” she said.
“If you get something in your yard that needs looking at, call me,” she said.
“Hopefully I won’t have any more,” said Waters.
Down the street, her neighbor Irene Zaccardelli heard about the two-foot-long snake. “Two feet? That’s a python to me,” she said.
“I have a small dog. That’s why I had to call,” Waters said.
Officer William Pressler responded to the home at 215 Manchester Road Thursday morning.
The city’s animal control officer, Kim Van Houten, was in New Bern at the time so Pressler and Waters had to wait as the snake lay still, not moving from its apparent nap in the sun.
Pressler described the snake over the radio to Van Houten as being copper colored with a V-shaped head and splotches.
“Stay away from it,” said Van Houten in return.
Upon arrival Van Houten identified the snake as a copperhead, one of North Carolina’s venomous snakes.
“It was right by her pool by some decorative rocks,” Van Houten said. “It was curled up like it was sunning.”
“I poked him with the snake stick and he didn’t move,” Van Houten said, “so we took it out into the grass and made sure he was dead.” Van Houten decapitated the two-foot long viper on the spot and put in a bag.
“It’s the kind of snake you don’t want to be messing with,” Van Houten said.
“I’ve caught plenty of them,” she said. “They’re all over the place.”
North Carolina has the highest annual frequency of snakebites in the nation with 19 bites per 100,000 residents, according to WebMD, which also said the nation has 7,000 bites per year yet an average of only four deaths per year.
Van Houten doubted that Havelock’s recent rains had anything to do with this snake’s appearance.
“It’s a little late for him to be coming up because of the rains,” she said.
“He picked those rocks to sun on. I don’t know why he was dead. He didn’t have any bite marks on him,” Van Houten said.
Van Houten gets lots of snake calls. She encourages people not to kill snakes but to call her instead.
“There are endangered species out there,” she said.
“If you get something in your yard that needs looking at, call me,” she said.
“Hopefully I won’t have any more,” said Waters.
Down the street, her neighbor Irene Zaccardelli heard about the two-foot-long snake. “Two feet? That’s a python to me,” she said.
Both pictures here are of the actual event. Bottom from Mike & top from the Havelock Paper.
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