Saw one once when I lived in Florida years ago. Beautiful snake. Thanks for not killing it!

So...did you grab him by the tail and play around with him a while like the Crocodile Hunter would have??

Beautiful snake. I can't honestly say that I would have picked him up bare handed though...at least not in once piece. A nice, long stick or a burlap bag and I would have safely transported him to the farthest woods though.

I would have had dirt all over me from the blast. Cool snake though...

There should be a name for this kind of post...

Perhaps "ecological ignorance indicator"?

No, how about "redneck detector"

Information on this "deadly" snake gathered from eMedicine:

Coral snake venoms tend to have significant neurotoxicity, inducing neuromuscular dysfunction.

These venoms tend to be some of the most potent found in snakes

However, additional information from the same site suggests that the snake is not so "deadly" after all...


Most people bitten by coral snakes are handling them intentionally

coral snakes must hang on for a brief period to achieve significant envenomation in humans

as many as 60% of those bitten by North American coral snakes may not be envenomed

Probably fewer than 20 bites per year (though 61 alleged bites were reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers in 1998)

No deaths related to coral snake bites have been reported in the United States since coral snake antivenom became available.

I guided this fella onto a rake and then gently held his tail as he wrapped himself in the tines. This was how I transported him. Kept my hands away from the business end. It's all good!

Red touch Yellow, Kill a Fellow
Red Touch Black, I'm gettin' the hell outa here anyway.

Awesome picture! Haven't seen one of those in the wild before. Seen Copperheads, Cottonmouth, and Rattlesnakes in the wild, but never Coral Snakes. And yep, let them live. Cool creatures. Didn't mess with them though lol, stayed safely away.

same here.

I might be conned into handling anything except a water moccasin. They stink to much! My friend grabbed one with the tongs (4 foot mechanical grabber)and the smell hung around for a couple hours. We had to move the grabbers away from us!

Mark,
I know what that smell would have been if I had handled a water moccasin and it wouldn't have gone away until after a shower and change of pants.

When it comes to snakes I dont have a problem with killing them all and let God sort out the good ones

Maybe you can get on t.v. just like Steve.

My dad almost ended up committing a felony with the confusion over the red/black-black/yellow flap!

We were walking the trail in Walnut Canyon National Monument, just outside Flagstaff, AZ, when one of the harmless king snakes decided to "cross the road" in front of my dad! Instinctively he thought "coral, Deadly, too near kids" and proceeded to pick up a tree limb and start using the snake for batting practice! I ran up to him, showed him a brochure that explained the difference in the snakes, and how it was a felony to harm or kill an animal, inside a national monument or national park!

Meanwhile, the snake beat a hasty exit into the underbrush!

Live and let live, the coral, is after all, just another one of God's creatures, and he don't make mistakes, LOL!

Rudy

It wouldn't have been dirt that was all over me. I hate snakes!!!! Both red and yellow and red and black!!!!!

Bob