Perched atop a bridge over the beaver dam, we looked for signs of our dear friend Justin Beaver (pics coming soon). Joining us was a large group of children, also hoping to spot something amazing. I asked them if they had spotted anything, and they responded "Nothing but snakes." Oh, I thought. Silly kids. "No, really." One of them says, pointing right beneath us.
"Oh. That IS a snake."
"Nope. It's four."
Blink. Why, yes it is. How incredibly... strange.
The children wander off looking for more cuddly discoveries, but we stay perched atop the bridge... waiting. Suddenly, there is a scream and some pointing. I'm thinking that a beaver has surfaced, and I'm happy the kids found what they were looking for. But, one of them starts running towards us.
"We just saw a SNAKE eat a CATFISH!" Seriously, what is going ON today? We start down the bridge to see what is going on, but we are not the only ones going to investigate.
When we arrive at the other end of the lake, the battle continues only feet away from land.
It may not seem like it, but the fish is still alive and fighting. I step forward to take a picture, and a nearby man reports to a hysterical woman that the "other snake" was "just over by [my] foot."
Everyone seemed to think that this was a Cottonmouth, which happens to be a very venomous type of water snake. But, I had a very close encounter with a Cottonmouth as a child, and I will forever remember exactly what they look like. My research has shown that this is a Diamond Backed Water Snake, quite common in Texas, and not venomous. Granted, I doubt any of this information would have comforted the catfish.
Yikes. So what's happening here? They keep going underwater, and when they resurface the snake is in a different spot, chomping down as hard as he can.
Those wounds look ugly. And I think the fish is starting to give up.
The snake is not giving up, however. Eventually the snake tires, and ends up letting go of the fish. Said snake then shoots out of the water and onto the land right next to where we are standing. The previously mentioned nearby man takes this opportunity to throw a stick at it and send it back into the water. This man says that they usually pull the fish up onto the land to eat them, but I'm guessing the snake didn't think he was going to be able to eat in peace anytime soon.
Sorry snake-friend, but you had a whole lake to eat that catfish and you choose to do it right in front of 6 kids. What did you expect?
In closing, even a reptile-loving fool such as myself found these pictures to be a lovely dose of nightmare juice. So, to cleanse your palette, I would like to present: a sunset.
Hey, how's that? The park is still as beautiful as ever, despite it's scaly underbelly.
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