Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back in the Water...

A Ruthless Water Moccasin Attacks!

Our favorite fishing & hunting guide from Virginia, Cory "Ruthless" Routh, has just become an internet sensation and gained recognition from National Geographic for his video of a water moccasin chasing his kayak.

Crazy you might say?

Well before you judge...

• NO, it was NOT trying to eat him.
• It likes to eat fish, small mammals, birds, lizards, baby alligators and turtles....oh, and other snakes - yum!

What was it doing following Cory's kayak then?

a water moccasin or "cottonmouth" does have a reputation for being aggressive

Cory is an outdoorsman's outdoorsman and knows danger first hand--often experiencing it in his role as a guide.  He knows that a water moccasin or "cottonmouth" does have a reputation for being aggressive, and will stand its ground—unlike many non-venomous snakes that will flee from danger.  But again, that's NOT what it was doing.

A cottonmouth also doesn't like to swim around objects, but often swims right up to boats and then dips under to get where it wants to go.  That's why these snakes often frighten many boaters who are just floating along leisurely.

Cory also was using a GoPro Hero5 mounted to an 8-foot long Mangrove Telepole.  When the snake sensed the camera lens, it perceived a predator and exposed its inner mouth (looks like cotton!) as a reflexive warning signal.

Even though there is a lot of interaction with humans on certain waters, biting any of us is a rarity for cottonmouths.  Cory also knew that it could not strike from its position in the water.  It would need to pretty much run into him to sink its teeth into his skin, so he never felt threatened.  In fact, he said later that the snake acted exactly as he would have expected it to act in that situation before it continued on its merry way.

Still too dangerous for your tastes?

Then make sure you take Cory along on your fishing adventure in the Back Bay in Virginia Beach! Just ask him if he's seen a black moccasin, gaper, mangrove rattler, snap jaw, stub-tail, swamp lion, trap jaw, water mamba or water pilot recently. If he says, "No, just cottonmouths," that only means he's seen them all—since there are literally that many names for this creature by the locals.