Why Kill It?

  I guess living on the Bayou has presented me with so many opportunities to interact with critters that I have learned to respect them. Not respect them out of fear but respect them merely as lifeforms that deserve to live just as much as I do.  I observe.  I learn.  Critters are smart and have developed methods that work to help them survive when the odds are against them.  I hate it when people are the biggest threat against most critters.  Humans will be the death of all lifeforms soon enough so I figure there is absolutely no reason that I should hasten it along.

  One of my biggest peeves with folks is their mentality that the "only good snake is a dead snake".  People!  People!  What are you thinking? Sure, I will be the first to admit that if a cottonmouth is adamant about living right at my front door or in my laundry room, it has got to go. If it refuses to move (swiftly) down to the marsh, it will be (sadly) killed. If it stays in the marsh or away from the house, even a venomous snake can go about its daily business with no fear of being clobbered by me. All nonvenomous snakes are welcome to linger around a bit.  I am actually happy to have them in the garden or yard.  Killing snakes just because they are snakes is about the stupidest thing I have ever heard.  Folks do not even care to identify a snake..."KILL IT!" is the only thing on their brain.

  I was sad to hear that today one of my friends did just that.  A sweet little snake ventured onto her patio and the entire group of her friends went berserk.  The critter never stood a chance.  Afterwards they had the thought to ask for an identification.  Turns out, the snake was a southeastern crowned snake and is an especially good snake to have about the place.  They never get very big and eat all sorts of things like centipedes and termites.

  I am so proud of my kids. While they were just young'uns, I tried to teach them about respect for critters...snakes included.  They grew into awesome adults who would never dream of harming an animal.  I must say that they are good folks and it does a mother's heart proud!  Just recently, my daughter's dogs were having conniptions in the yard.  She went out to investigate the cause of their uproar and found a snake. Instead of panicking and reaching for a hoe or shovel, she calmly brought in the dogs, took a picture and tried to identify the snake.  Yep, it was a harmless plain bellied watersnake.  No need to worry about that one!  She did exactly what she was supposed to do.  Reaching for that gardening tool to attack the snake could have been met with a nasty strike had this been a venomous snake.

Watersnake that my daughter found in her yard.  The snake was allowed to go on its merry way!

  This is not the first time that Elizabeth "did the right thing" regarding snakes.  Even when she was a small tyke, she came to tell me about a snake in the garden.  While picking squash, she found a cottonmouth under one of the plants.  She came out of the garden and calmly informed me of the moccasin.  (Yep, even at that age, she had learned to identify a cottonmouth.)  We managed to shoo the critter from the garden where it was invariably trying to catch its breakfast.  Funny part about that tale is that she still managed to pick the squash from the plant that was covering the moccasin!  She knew....and the snake knew, that there was no reason to overreact.

  I did make an attempt to teach my sweet friend about the snake she found on her patio.  Did it sink in so future snakes will not be needlessly killed?  I doubt it.  Most folks do not want to hear that snakes can be friends.  All they want to hear are things like "Its a cottonmouth!  Kill it!"  "That is a copperhead!  Kill it!".  They do not want to hear "It is a southeastern crowned snake.  It is good to have in your yard.  Let it live!"  That bit of information is usually met with disdain.

  Yep, I am sure proud that my kids have learned to respect life...all life and treat critters the way they are supposed to be treated.