Most people are rather afraid of snakes of all kinds, and generally try to give them wide berth. In Tennessee, we have three kinds of poisonous snakes in the wild, and many kinds of nonpoisonous ones.
Our state’s poisonous snakes are rattlesnakes, copperheads and water moccasins. Snakes are cold-blooded creatures and often hibernate in winter, venturing out when they are attracted by warm sun in spring and summer. Most of us rarely see snakes locally, and they prefer to stay clear of us.
But there was a shocking tragedy when a young East Ridge man was bitten by a copperhead, not in nature, but at his home. A friend reportedly had brought the snake to the victim, Wade Westbrook, who was a reptile enthusiast.
In most local snakebite cases, prompt medical treatment is sufficient to save a victim from anything much worse than a painful reaction to the venom. But in this unfortunate case, the copperhead bite was fatal.
While most encounters with snakes do not end in tragedy, we are well advised to exercise caution around them, particularly when we are uncertain whether a particular snake is poisonous.