Meet the 12 Snakes of the Mississippi River

The Northern water snake can be found living and swimming along the banks of the Mississippi River. It uses its long body to circle around small fish and tadpoles in the river and then eats them all in one bite. The timber rattlesnake, or canebreak rattlesnake, is a venomous snake that inhabits areas along the Mississippi River from Minnesota on down to the Gulf of Mexico. This heavy-bodied snake is the largest venomous snake in many states. The Eastern hognose snake is also known as a “puff adder” because it can puff out its head and neck to give it the appearance of a cobra. Another defense it has against predators is to play dead.

The Mississippi River runs from Minnesota down the center of the country, 2,350 miles, to Louisiana where it pours into the Gulf of Mexico. It is a major commercial waterway for people and home to many species of wildlife that live in and around the river habitat. Fish are plentiful, like largemouth bass, walleye and catfish (big ones!), and so are waterfowl like wood ducks, Canadian geese and Sandhill cranes. What about snakes? What kind of snakes make their home around the Mississippi River?