| 1 | Blood python |
Blood pythons dwell in peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia, and love swampy areas of forests most of all. It’s one of the thickest-bodied pythons, with explosive brute force as it lunges against your legs. Because of its fancy colours, this is one of the most popular snakes in captivity worldwide.
Though non-venomous, they have sharp fangs which they unhaltingly sink in people’s legs, with a thuggish gleam in their eyes. Those in Malaysia are more aggressive, while the Indonesian versions are calmer. The signature bloody patches give them great disguise, representing fallen jungle leaves while the brown patches resemble swampside mulch. This is a pure ambush snake, which rests motionless for days or even weeks by the swamp’s edge. Rodents are overwhelmingly their main prey.
Blood pythons are also drawn to palm oil plantations and their shady canopies, so the swamps nearby will be sure to host them. Not surprisingly, trappers hoping to supply the international market head to these plantations first, not wanting to sink knee deep into a bog. Blood pythons probably encounter humans more now than in pre-industrial times, as no sane person would head to their swamp lairs willingly.
| 2 | Aquatic coral snake |
This is a dedicated snake of the Amazon rainforest, including Brazil and Guyana. Rather than swamps near your back garden, aquatic coral snakes dwell in swamps in the most inhospitable, humid jungles. Even reaching this snake is a nightmare. First you have to slash your way through dense foliage, then there’s thick bogs which you could sink in up to your boots. The branches overhead are home to shrieking monkeys, issuing warning cries to their fellow kind.
At the swamp itself, the journey might end up being in vain. Aquatic coral snakes are shy and won’t simply appear at your request. This snake is normally found swimming through swamps and rivers, but occasionally on the edges, resting to digest a meal. A flash of neon red and white colours might be the first (and last) thing you see of this swamp snake.
Though they don’t bite unless harassed, they’re a strongly venomous species which unloads neurotoxins into unfortunate victims. Aquatic coral snakes measure 80-100cm, and are the most swamp-loving of their family – the rest tend to favour leafy forest floors.
| 3 | Triangle keelback |
Triangle keelbacks dwell in the swamps of Thailand, Burma and northeast India. They’re a semi-aquatic snake, also frequenting lakes and streams but being particularly common along the overgrown outskirts of boggy swamps. They can reach 135cm, and you can recognise them by their black, inverted triangle patterns overlaid onto strikingly red sides.
The triangle keelback dines on all things frogs; the adults and also their eggs. This snake pulls the strings of fate for all nearby amphibians, which are sometimes allowed to live based purely on whether it’s already had a meal in the past 24 hours. Triangle keelbacks comes out to hunt by nighttime and are superb swimmers, skills they use to prowl the swamp surface for frogs, looking for strange movements which their brains instinctively recognise as hopping.
Triangle keelbacks can move slowly when necessary, allowing them to blend in with rotting vegetation floating on the swamp surface. When a frog draws near, they suddenly move with a burst of speed. Then they retreat to the swamp’s edge to swallow their meal in peace, enjoying the fruits of their patient endeavours.
| 4 | Puff-faced water snake |
This is a swamp snake, but not one you’d be likely to encounter. Puff-faced water snakes live in remote Thai forests where they favour small streams and river shores. A nice swamp, surrounded by muck and twisting vegetation, is another of their favourite living quarters.
This species can be found in swamps, next to swamps, in tree hollows near swamps, or venturing a short distance away to investigate scents. They coexist in this wonderland with woodpeckers, owls, frogs and other snakes like keelbacks, barely realising that humans exist. In these remote swamps, little has changed for thousands of centuries, and neither has the puff faced water snake’s lifestyle. This species prefers to ambush its prey, rather than darting about manically and allowing prey to take notice.
Puff-faced water snakes can be identified by their dark eye stripes like an eye mask. Though effective at hunting small hopping prey, they’re far from masters of their swamp ecosystem. Size rules all, and this snake only reaches 123cm, meaning that wading birds can easily waddle over eagerly and snatch them up.
| 5 | Orange-bellied swamp snake |
A friendlier-looking swamp snake, with large black eyes and a reasonable facial expression, rather than a cruel crocodilian snarl. Orange bellied swamp snakes (Tretanorhinus nigroluteus) live in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, favouring forests and particularly the swamps within. They can be found swimming casually around the surface, searching for their meal. They have upturned nostrils which allow them to submerge and poke only their faces up.
Orange-bellied swamp snakes are non-venomous and have no human deaths, or even serious injuries to their name. That said, we don’t know everything about the snake kingdom. Tretanorhinus nigroluteus in particularly have very little research about their personality, their tricks and schemes. This may be a deceptive snake that swims to the centre of swamps and looks back calmly, as though trying to send you a message.
As you walk forward curiously, they could move further away, never breaking eye contact, as though trying to guide you. Awestruck, you might wade into the swamp itself, only to feel a horrible pressure around your legs: the snake was in league with the local boa constrictor, which is now pulling you down to your certain demise. The last thing you’d see would be the orange bellied swamp snake skirting to the edge of the swamp to seduce someone else. We’re not saying this is what will happen (necessarily), just to keep your wits about you near snake-infested swamps.
| 6 | Mud snake |
Mud snakes live in the southeastern US and are easily most abundant in Florida. The swampy expanses of the everglades are a paradise for them, as are twisting cypress corridors also popular with alligators. Mud snakes aren’t hard to find if you live rurally, though they do like the darkest, eeriest swamps. They mostly prey on amphibians, which they find easy to come by, and are sometimes swallowed themselves by cottonmouths, their fellow swamp lover.
Mud snakes measure 90-120cm, and might be the most harmless large snake in the USA. They’re non-venomous and even attempting to bite is exceptionally rare. You can wade into a swamp, pick one up with your hands and suffer no ill effects (except 20 alligators arriving at once). Nevertheless, mud snakes can look very eerie at times. At dusk, when the fading light reduces the visibility of this already dark snake, the effect can be like a 1950s horror film. They also have a disturbing tendency to float motionless on the water surface, coiled into a complete circle. Many people’s quest to find a mud snake would end right there, as they run screaming back to their car.
| 7 | Bothrops moojeni |
A venomous pitviper, which lurks in the gallery forests and cerrado swamps of southern Brazil, sometimes not far from local trails. This snake is finely tuned to blend into the swamp-side undergrowth, to disappear as though never there. Their scales are beige to black, with subtle grey patches, a scheme which is identical on the head. In the right locations, these are such a match for boggy swamp mulch that Bothrops moojeni practically becomes invisible.
Many will walk right past this snake, while others will come armed with knowledge and still only find them after great effort. You might see a strange pair of eyes, swivel around, only to see nothing, and try to silence that niggling voice that you might might be losing your marbles.
Stepping on Bothrops moojeni is a real risk. Though venomous, they’re not itching to attack human beings. They won’t slither up ferociously and pounce, but their venom is rich in muscle-degrading myotoxins. Bothrops moojeni splits its diet between mammals and reptiles, and are a nocturnal species which lays 3 to 30 live young.
| 8 | Common keelback |
A harmless snake of northeast Australia, which sticks to stationary water bodies such as ponds and swamps. Though barely heard of globally, the common keelback is a regular neighbour of Queenslanders, who probably got bored of seeing them years ago. In winter, they prefer wide floodplains, while summer is swamp season. Common keelbacks are quite timid around humans, and will sometimes flee at high speeds if startled, swimming to the opposite side of their swamp like a speedboat. Others such as pregnant females will find thick stands of water vegetation to hide in, or dive below into the swampy depths.
Common keelbacks are non-venomous, and rarely bite. With their swamp-loving ways, it’s not surprising that their diet is overwhelmingly frogs, with a small smattering of toads. Species include ornate burrowing frogs and even the poisonous Dahl’s water frog. Other Australian snakes die within minutes after eating this frog, even the moment the frog touches their lips, but the common keelback has innate immunity. This gives them a dream survival advantage, a food that no other snake can eat.
Though not threatening, their ability to scoop up meals from their swampy world is unparalleled. This species succeeds in a more humble way. Common keelbacks are usually safe in their swamp strongholds, but they still fall victim to cunning predators, including hawks and owls. Their eggs are also hunted by the slatey grey snake.
| 9 | Black swamp snake |
This 30-40cm snake has made its home in the boggy swamps of Florida, Georgia and Alabama. They lack venom and are extremely shy, almost always hiding amidst thick swamp reeds to avoid being exposed. They’re almost completely aquatic and look very similar to mud snakes, as though swamps naturally push snakes to be red and black in sharp contrast.
Black swamp snakes prefer the most heavily vegetated swamps, so that they can always enter cover if need be. This means that locals could find their nearby swamps full of snakes one day, and seemingly empty the next. A teenager could even bring along his mates, insisting that he’d seen snakes yesterday, only to be laughed at as nothing happens. In reality, the snake was hiding in the reeds, and the next day, it could be back to greet the teenager as though laughing at him.
Alternatively, you could walk past and see a quick head poke up, or the swamp gradually become a very eerie place as you know the snakes are in there, but lurking just out of sight. Black swamp snakes also spend time by the shores of swamps, resting and digesting. Their diet incudes the smaller residents of swamps, including worms, leeches and smaller fish.
| 10 | Cottonmouth |
The cottonmouth is the swamp snake the average Texan or Floridian is most likely to see. They’re closely related to copperheads, but prefer moister, humid habitats, which fits swamps to a tee. Dog walkers regularly meet the cottonmouth while strolling down their well worn trails. They have a strong preference for frogs, and move at sluggish speeds along the shores. Cottonmouths are slow but strong swimmers, and love to shock people by poking their heads up like a submarine periscope.
Despite the fear surrounding them, life is harder for a cottonmouth than they’d let on. They have endless enemies in their swampy habitats, and not many allies. Hungry alligators eat them, rising up, snapping their jaws shut, and disappearing into the depths. The snapping turtle finds cottonmouths simply delicious, and they even have a fish predator in the glassy-eyed largemouth bass. Overhead, there’s the beating wings of blue herons and whooping cranes. They can dive below the surface, but then there’s a whole new set of dangers.
Cottonmouths have a tough time in the swamps, and they’re much less aggressive than commonly believed. They’ve never been filmed charging after people, or jumping off branches to land on people’s fishing boats. Bites are rare, and even then, the main symptoms are usually local skin tissue destruction and swelling.