How many species of snakes live in Southeastern North Carolina?
There are about 30 species of snakes native to Southeastern North Carolina, according to Andy Wood, the education director for Audubon North Carolina in Wilmington. The smaller ones are six-to eight-inches long and primarily eat worms. “Our largest snake would be the Eastern Coachwhip snake,” Wood said. They have been known to reach seven feet in length, although finding one that large is rare, he said. Coachwhips have a dark chocolate brown coloring along the front third of their bodies and a tannish-gray coloring on the back two-thirds of their length. Other common snakes are black racers, rat snakes and corn snakes and a number of water snake species. There are six types of venomous snakes native to the region. Two of those, the eastern diamondback rattlesnake and the coral snake, are quite rare and are both protected species. Two other snakes, the scarlet king snake and scarlet snake, are often confused for coral snakes because of similar markings, Wood said. The cottonmouth is ano
