Right now we're hiking in the southern swamps of Texas,

which is home to two different water snake species.

One is venomous, and one is not.

If your life depended on it,

would you be able to tell the difference?

(dramatic music)

Stick around, 'cause we're about to show ya.

(dramatic jungle music)

(animal growling)

As the sun cut through the tops of the cypress trees,

I carefully made my way into the swamp.

Every step counts when you're in the back country

of south Texas.

And as my boots slowly splashed through the dark water,

my focus was completely in tune with the environment.

I knew that it was only a matter of time before

I would find the one reptile that most people

are terrified of.

Ah.

- [Cameraman] Hey, what are you looking for?

- Snakes, and nothing yet.

You know, most people are out there and they're hiking

and they stumble upon snakes when they don't expect to.

Me, I'm always lookin' for 'em.

But if you do come across one in the wild,

I think it's really important to identify the species.

A lot of times you have a non-venomous snake

that will look like a venomous one.

Unfortunately, these non-venomous snakes

are then vilified as being venomous

and a lot of times they end up being killed.

My goal today is to catch one non-venomous snake

and one venomous snake so we can show you

the distinct differences between the two.

Ah, it's a long search out here in the swamps.

I'm not givin' up.

We are gonna find some snakes.

(water splashing)

(suspenseful music)

(dramatic music)

(yelling)

Yes! Yes!

Check it out.

Okay, little bitey, little bitey.

Ah, ah, ah, ah, he's got my finger.

Ouch!

Ah, good news for me, though,

is that this one is non-venomous.

Bring it up in the light, check that out.

That is a broad-banded water snake.

Woo, okay.

That is half of the equation right there.

Watch your GoPro.

He's trying to bite ya.

Well, that's the safe one.

Now we gotta find the moccasin.

Whew, awesome!

Man, definitely got my thumb.

A bite from this one and I'm gonna be just fine.

But the other snake we're lookin' for?

The water mocassin?

If that attacked my thumb,

we wouldn't be gettin' shots.

We'd be on our way to the hospital.

Look at that.

Let me get 'em real close for your camera there.

Woah!

- [Cameraman] He's bitey.

Beautiful snake.

- Okay, cool.

Well, let's keep searching for moccasins.

(dramatic music)

You do not wanna do is just accidentally

step on a venomous snake.

This is definitely moccasin territory.

There's a moccasin right there.

Okay, come up slow.

- [Cameraman] Where?

- Right up against the side of that tree.

- [Cameraman] Oh, I see.

- Wow, look at how big it is.

Okay, now this it the real deal.

Stay back.

(exhaling)

Okay.

Stay a couple steps back out.

Now, they usually move pretty slow.

I'm gonna try to hook it and bring it up here

on the path.

You ready?

- [Cameraman] Yup.

Careful.

(dramatic music)

- Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

Startle.

(dramatic music)

- [Cameraman] Careful.

- Got it by the tail, got it by the tail.

Okay, there we go.

Do not wanna take a bite from this snake.

That one will send ya to the hospital.

Okay, bringing it up on the path here.

Wow, okay.

Ooh, rattle in the tail a little bit.

That is a defensive sign.

Okay.

Ah, ah, ah, tss, tss, tss, tss.

It should just stop for us.

Come here, come here.

There we go.

All right, what we need to do now is just get

the snake under control so that we can get it

up close for the cameras.

Let me move it back a little bit here.

Ha, my nerves are goin'.

Just looking into the water there

and that's how well these things camouflage.

I just saw it out of the corner of my eye,

just an obscure shape up against that cypress.

And that's what these snakes will do.

You don't often see them slithering about

like you would a water snake.

They'll often be just like this,

curled up in a ball somewhere trying to stay camouflaged,

trying to stay away from any potential predators.

Then again, if you were gonna try to eat this snake,

you better be quick because if you're tagged

by those fangs, you are going to be in a world of trouble.

Now this is a water moccasin,

but they are famously known as cottonmouths.

And watch this.

I'll get the snake to open its mouth

and you'll see that white throat.

Look at that.

That is a defensive, woah, see?

And look, he got the tail goin' now, too.

You see that?

Mimicking a rattlesnake, saying I am venomous.

Yes, we know that you are venomous.

I can actually see the fangs tucked back.

Woo, I am drippin' bullets of sweat right now.

Let me back up a touch.

Okay, well perfect.

We have the two snake species that are indigenous

to this habitat.

A water moccasin and a broad-banded water snake.

One venomous, one that is not.

Stick around and we'll show you which is which.

Wow.

Check this out.

Completely calm now considering the fact

just a few minutes ago this snake was doing

everything it could to bite me and get away.

This is the broad-banded water snake.

And look at this incredibly calm demeanor.

Now I noticed the same thing with Lake Erie water snakes

and northern water snakes.

At first it's all about fight or flight.

If they can't get away and you catch 'em,

they immediately try to bite you.

Now the good news for me, like I said before,

is that this is a non-venomous species.

- [Cameraman] So how big do the snakes get?

I mean, do these snakes get as big as

a northern water snake?

- Yeah, they do.

I would say this is about average size for

one of these snakes.

It is I'd say about two and a half feet in length.

But they can grow out to be about three and a half

or four feet at a maximum size.

Females are larger than the males,

and I do believe it's a male, looking at its cloaca.

Yeah, you're a handsome fella, aren't ya?

Now, these snakes are often misidentified.

People see them near the water

and they automatically think it's a water moccasin.

This is a very common species all across

the southeastern United States.

And the reason people mistake it for a water moccasin

is mostly the fact that A, it's right by the water,

and B, the coloration.

I'm gonna turn the snake just a little bit.

You see all that dark brown that runs the length

of the body?

And then that faded banding looks just like

a younger water moccasin.

But then of course if you flip the snake over

and look at its belly,

look at all that copper checkering.

You will not find that on a water moccasin.

And not that you'd ever necessarily see

the belly of the snake,

but I just think that that's really, really cool lookin'.

Ho, ho, this is actually the first time

I have caught this species of snake.

And it is just so incredibly calm right now.

I cannot believe how comfortable this snake

has gotten with us,

and we've only been handling it for a few minutes.

Oh, but it did musk on me.

There you go.

See that white stuff on my hand right there?

- [Cameraman] Ew.

- Oh, yeah, it stinks.

That is another defense mechanism.

Poop on a potential predator if it's trying to eat me.

All right, but I'm not gonna eat you.

Don't worry.

We could just hang out and be friends.

Wow, this snake is so cool.

Well, I think at this juncture we should bring out

the water moccasin.

I'm gonna hand the snake off to Mario.

He's gonna bring in the moccasin.

This is gonna be a little more dangerous.

Hopefully we'll get that snake to just calm down

on the ground and we'll get the cameras up close for it

so we can show you the distinct field markings

of that snake.

All right, you ready?

- [Mario] Yup.

- All right, now we're gonna bring in the water moccasin.

Ah, just keep your wits about you 'cause

this is going to be slightly more dangerous.

Okay, let me bring it over here.

Come here, come here, come here.

- [Cameraman] Slightly is an understatement.

- [Coyote] Yeah.

I got it, I got it, I got it.

Sling it in under.

Hold on, let me get her to stop.

Shht, shht.

There we go.

- [Cameraman] So, Coyote, the water snake you just held

had anticoagulant in its saliva.

This snake has venom.

What would this snake do to you?

- This snake would, depending on how your body reacted,

it could potentially kill you.

There are not many reported deaths

from water moccasin bites.

However, that venom is incredibly toxic

and it will break down your red blood cells.

You could lose a finger,

you could lose your hand.

Let's just put it this way.

If I'm tagged by this snake,

we are leaving the scene and we are heading

to the hospital.

So I need to be extra careful right now.

Mark, we've got you a couple feet past the snake.

We've got Mario just off camera here

making sure if the snake makes a move,

he can keep it away from you, Mark.

But other than that,

if we just stay calm and collected

just like this in front of the snake,

we should be just fine.

You see, the snake's not trying to flee.

It's just keeping itself low to the ground,

its body spread.

Look how wide and girthy that snake is.