Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Snake Attack

Warning! This post describes something that may be frightening or disturbing to some. The description and some of the pictures show a snake attack on another live animal. This isn't necessarily as simple as that, but if you think you can handle this then keep reading. If you don't think you can handle this then stop reading now. Maybe you might like some of the stories on the sidebar today.

I was finishing up my hike and thinking there was nothing left to see. The only thing left was to cross a small bridge at the front of the nature preserve. The bridge crosses a very very small creek. You could step over the creek most of the time. As I was taking the first step off of the bridge, I heard a rustling in the leaves just off the bridge to the left.

I stopped and began to look to see what it was. I assumed it must be another squirrel or something, but I discovered that it was really something completely different. I saw two snakes thrashing around in the grass and old fallen leaves. I remembered thinking earlier that I hadn't seen anysnakes in this place yet. There was something a little bit fatter in the middle of them, but I couldn't see what it was.

One of the two snakes quickly slithered under the leaves and was gone. It was hard to see what was going on, but as I focused my eyes I noticed something odd about the snake that was left. It didn't look like the other garter snakes I've seen in the past. This one was more of a brownish color and had less prominent stripes.

Now think about this from the eyes of a beginner to snakes. Someone who doesn't know very much. What would you think if you only knew of the existence of garter snakes and poisonous rattlesnakes, and you weren't at all sure this was a garter snake? And remember this nature preserve is in the middle of a well populated suburb of Detroit.

Not recognizing this as a garter snake, I began to get a sinking feeling in my stomach. It was exactly at that point that I realized what that fatter thing was. It was a fat little frog, and the snake was trying to eat it. The frog was still very much alive and struggling for it's life. It was losing. This sight made that terrible feeling in me become worse.

I thought this had to be a garter snake, but there was still the fact that it was different than the others. What if it wasn't? It's skin looked much rougher than the other garter snakes. What did a rattlesnake look like again? I couldn't quite remember, but this was kind of close. Oh crap! I had to do something!

With that thought, I began furiously taking pictures of the sight before me. The snake! The frog! The gruesome sight of the snake in the middle of feeding! I had to document what this snake looked like. If it was really a rattlesnake, I would probably have to report this to the authorities. I'm sure they would want to do something about a poisonous snake in this area.

But what would they do? They would surely want to remove any poisonous rattlesnakes from this area. Would they close down this park? I imagined them searching through the surrounding area, and possibly ruining it as they went. These woods stretch beyond the park. They go on for many miles. As I took my pictures, I felt sicker and sicker.

In the middle of all of this, the position of the frog changed so it was looking right at me. I could imagine it pleading with me to save it. I couldn't and wasn't going to save this frog. It was already too late for it. Besides, this was part of nature no matter what kind of snake this was. I couldn't interfere with that.


Here are some pictures of the snake feeding on the frog. I kept these smaller so they wouldn't be too upsetting for some people. If you want a better look, just click on the pictures.





Another thing that happened while I was taking the pictures was that two women walked by me with a baby carriage. I had the urge to turn to them and point out what I was seeing. I wanted to warn them of the danger. My rational mind told me to ignore them, because this may not be a danger at all. I kept my senses, and decided to stay silent.

I finally decided I had enough pictures. I now had to get home and find out what kind of snake this really was. The whole incident ruined my good day. I saw so many wonderful things before this. It was the day the goose showed me her eggs. My happiness was ruined by the thought of this snake.

When I got home, I checked several times over several days to find out and then make sure what this snake was. I was relieved to find out that it was a common garter snake. Some garter snakes look different than others. I already knew that part, but it was good to read it again.

I was pretty sure all along that it was only a garter snake, but the possibility of something worse just ruined my day. I'm still feeling the effects a week later. This is a good lesson for everyone that nature isn't always nice. It's not always a magical wonderland. When you go out there, stay safe and stay on the trails.

21 comments:

  1. If it was me, I would have gone long before I could take any picture

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  2. Ratty some great footage of nature in action. Thanks for sharing-even though I don't like snakes!

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  3. Snakes are not my favorite thing to see, and I read your story with feet on the couch!!

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  4. You saw an amazing act of nature, but I agree...things there are not always pleasant.
    I couldn't bear to look at the small pictures by enlarging them, so thanks for making them smaller on the blog.
    It is the circle of life in nature, though.

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  5. This is great post Ratty, even if it wasn't so pleasant to see. I enlarged the pics. That frog looked so much bigger than that snake could handle. Isn't it amazing that they can get them into their mouths like that?!! I would have hated to come across that event too but would have stayed to take pictures like you did. I would have felt so sorry for the frog though. But snakes have to eat too.

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  6. It is interesting to know such a number of people who do not like snake, and it makes me sick to read the whole post.

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  7. Good post. Not that what happened was good... it is sad to witness the predator eats prey kind of thing. One day, the lion will lay down with the lamb...

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  8. Scary Ratty and it brings back my memories of a garter snake in my kitchen not too long ago. I was scared out of my mind. Even though now I know garter snakes are harmless I still don't like them.

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  9. Kruel - I was safely on a small platform and I've been closer to snakes before, so I didn't have too many thoughts of running away.
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    Mike - I don't like snakes much either, but that makes me curious about them. I felt like this was a story that had to be told though.
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    Icy BC - I understand completely. Telling this story of the snake was necessary to prepare people for things like this. Nature is fun, but sometimes there are snakes too. I had my feet up when I was writing the story. :)
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    The Retired One - The small pictures were hard for me to look at too. It was even harder seeing it when it happened. Considering that, it took me a long time to figure out how to do this post right.
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    Ginnymo - I felt terrible for the frog. Those pictures obviously show why. I felt worse when I thought the snake might be a rattler. I just didn't know what would happen if the snake turned out to be dangerous. I'm glad it wasn't.
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    Rainfield - Yeah, I don't think there are many people at all who like them. I've been sick for a whole week about this. I didn't even want to tell the story, but I knew I had to.
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    Mrs. Mecomber - Predators and prey are part of nature. We humans need to know that they're out there. I hope this story helps others remember to watch their step while they're enjoying nature.
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    Poetic Shutterbug - I remember your story well. I remember reading it and thinking of the times I've had to get snakes out of peoples houses. I think this was kind of a similar situation as yours, a snake that is in a place it doesn't belong. I'm glad this time mine turned out to be only a garter snake that was in the right place.

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  10. That's why I don't like woods, forests. Snakes are terrible. AAAAAhhhhh..... If I do get dragged into hiking with friends, I stay in the middle of the trail. I don't touch anything. I don't go near anything.

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  11. my heart would probably thumping fast had i been in your situation, i may be torn between moving away and taking a picture, capturing nature in action. thanks for sharing this moment with us.

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  12. Carl - As long as you're on the trail you'll be fine pretty much every time. Some of the point of this post was to stress exactly that. Garter snakes are mostly harmless, so there really was no danger here, for me anyway.
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    Betchai - Oddly, I was never afraid for myself. I was more afraid for other people. I wanted to make sure the park and the whole area was safe. That's mostly why I took the pictures.

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  13. SAVE THE FROGS! SAVE THE FROGS!! Oh, I don't think I could have watched him eat the frog. I would have this rationale that God put me there to save the frog and the frog needed me and the snake could go eat at McDonald's or something and I would save the day--in the frog's eyes. I did enlarge the photo--creepy cool. I'm gonna go hug my frogs now.

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  14. Lin - That's pretty funny. :)
    I considered trying to save the frog, but I think it was too late for him. By then I was worried about saving everybody else. If it would have been a rattlesnake, I wanted to keep other people safe. I was also worried about the fate of the whole nature preserve. I'm glad it was only a garter snake.

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  15. That is life at its best and worst all at once. In nature some must die so others can eat. I had a talk about that with my kids about an hour ago. Polar bear eats seals...

    Funny thing too. Two snakes in two days at my house. One garter and one racer. The reptiles are out and about!

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  16. Oh My! I am so terrified of snakes! And I have seen more than a dozen in this lifetime. Far too many than I want! LOL

    Btw, thanks for the comment on my post about my followers, I just got the chance to log in now and do some updates. I love how I described your blog too hehe :-)

    XoXoX

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  17. I was really worried about this story- it wasn't as bad as I had imagined (I think such bad things all the time, a worrier) The poor frog, it would have been so hard for me not to try and save it but I know why you didn't and why we shouldn't intervene in that side of things.
    When you put the warning to this story in a blog post a few back- I started to panic about Mrs Goose... Am so glad to see she's still ok and can't wait to see those beautiful little ones she will be having :)

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  18. Nice set of pics. Guess I'm cold blooded since they didn't bother me. Now if it had latched on to a Ratty fellow's foot and tried to swallow ya it would have been distressing.

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  19. That would take a very brave Princess to kiss that frog. My biggest fear is snakes but I made it through your post even enlarging the photos. You have certainly captured a great wildlife moment but don't do it again because having just had my dinner I can now feel it rising in my stomach. I will survive, unlike the frog. Excellent post.

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  20. In defense of the garter snake, king snakes eat garter snakes as well as rattlesnakes, birds eat them, cats eat them, so one man's snake may be another man's dinner! Having grown up as a nature girl, I guess I learned to accept the indelicate side of the natural world early on, but find the beauties of nature intensified by virtue of this contrast. Respect in the natural world is very important, sometimes for our own safety. As a teacher, I try to challenge myself to bring these two sides together because as the saying goes: "We hate some persons because, we do not know them and we will not know them because we hate them" can go for all creatures (bugs, snakes). Frogs and ladybugs can seem cute so we like them! I wouldn't say I 'like' snakes, but I felt awfully bad when I accidentally ran over one with my lawn mower! That was NOT a pretty story and I will spare you the details! If anyone would like to take the challenge, here's a good site for easing into the world of snakes: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/462/

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  21. Julia - Yes, this was a very real look at nature. I think maybe kids should be exposed to things like this early, but gradually, so they're not shocked later on.
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    Daisy - I think most people fear snakes above all other animals. A garter snake is as harmless as the frog though.

    You don't need to thank me. It's you who deserve thanks for that post.
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    Bemused - I felt bad for the frog too, and I would have felt bad for the snake if someone robbed it of it's food. I'm a worrier too. And Mrs. Goose is doing great.
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    WiseAcre - They didn't bother me either, but I knew they would bother some others. I was bothered by a possible bad situation though.
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    Martyn - Seeing something like that is hard, but it was necessary that I showed it. I wanted people to know what they might see outside. I won't show things like this very often though. It's back to teasing squirrels for me. :)
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    Diane - You have a great point! It's good to see some of the snake's side of things. Snakes are a rough subject for some, but garter snakes aren't really any more dangerous than black squirrels. This is a valuable addition to the post.

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