News and notes from Reston (tm).

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

They're Baaack: Copperheads Resume Reign of Terror

Snakes.jpegAh, springtime on Reston's lovely network of paths and walkways: if the weirdos don't get you, the venomous snakes will.

A local veterinary clinic sent a message to its customers warning them of an "excessive amount of copperheads" on Reston paths and trails.

It has been brought to our attention that Reston has an excessive amount of copperheads seen on the local paths and trails. In North Reston a resident was on a morning walk with her Golden Retriever and came across the snake as it was sunning itself on the path; the dog was bitten. If your pet is bitten please go straight to an emergency clinic as the anti-venom must be administered as soon as possible and we do not carry this drug.
Not to alarm anyone, but consider this Fun Fact about our beloved scaled neighbors:
The copperhead's initial threat display is to strike. It lashes out at an enemy as a warning. If the enemy is close enough, the fangs may penetrate the skin.
The "good" news is that unlike other snakes, when copperheads bite, it's a "threat display" rather than an attempt to kill, so they inject little venom. But people and pets alike still require immediate medical attention.

All of this, of course, is just an excuse for us to share the best example of edited-for-TV overdubbing in the history of cinema:


You're welcome.

Update: The Reston Association is reporting one copperhead sighting this year, on Lamplighter Way near the Bright Pond natural area. "No one was bitten and the snake did not offer to defend itself," the RA website says.

7 comments:

  1. And if you encounter a snake with arms and legs in South Reston that strikes out at you, that's just an ex-girlfriend of mine.

    She's mostly harmless.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Do you think that if we send these snakes along with our tax dollars to the snakes down in Richmond, that the Commonwealth will also keep 7 out of 10 of them? Just a thought.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Scotty: But was she a shapely piece of asp?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'll take being bitten by a venomous Reston copperhead snake while walking along an RA path over being bitten by a deranged venomous Reston crackhead snake lying in wait in the smokers corner of the entrance to the Reston Public Library any day. Remember the scene from the first Indiana Jones film when Indy suddenly finds himself in the bowels of the ancient ruins surrounded by all manner of vicious poisonous snakes? Yeah. You just about have to be an Indiana Jones to survive walking past the smokers corner to get inside the library.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sir Pent: Sadly no, which is one of the reasons why she's an ex!

    Her venomous personality is another...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Peasant From Less Sought After South RestonMay 16, 2012 at 11:59 AM

    Per the RA report, I guess that means the snake did not Ssssssssssstand his ground?

    And where did this snake go to furnish his den?
    Krait and Barrel!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Has Medusa been sighted? We could ask her to hang out at the library and turn the smokers to stone.

    ReplyDelete

(If you don't see comments for some reason, click here).