How to Identify Coral & King Snakes

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Ginger Black. I'm a professional snake handler with Expert Village. You've probably heard the old saying, "Red on yellow will kill a fellow. Red and black's a friend of Jack." That refers only to Eastern Coral Snakes. Coral snakes from other parts of the US, the rhyme just doesn't apply. This little girl is a mimic. This is the red on black. She's a scarlet King snake. She's a mimic because she wants you to be afraid. She wants you to think she's going to do you some real harm. She won't. She eats lizards and snakes smaller than she is. Coral snakes are, however, pretty scary if you're bitten by them. They are the only neurotoxic venom in the United States. They are however, very rare and hard to come by. They like to stay hidden. I have a friend and colleague who's been hunting snakes for about forty years. He's only ever see two in the wild. These little guys are called King Snakes. And, they and their kinfolk, other King Snakes, are very prized by a lot of people because they do eat other snakes. That's how they got their name. King Cobras, in fact, are called King because they eat other snakes. They, however, are a little more scary. Hopefully, by now, you've seen that venomous snakes are not as common as people fear they are. You're not going to come by them nearly as often as you would a non-venomous. But, should you encounter one, whether you want to or not, and you're bitten, hopefully, you have a much better idea of how to survive the bite. "