They say everything is bigger in Texas, and apparently, that rule absolutely applies to the local reptiles.
If you spend enough time floating the rivers or fishing the lakes down in the Lone Star State, you know that you are sharing the water with some pretty wild creatures. But a group of boaters out on the Colorado River near Bastrop, Texas, got a front-row seat to a heavyweight river bout that looks straight out of a National Geographic documentary. When I think giant water snakes and giant catfish, my mind goes to two places… the Amazon, or those south east Asian giants in the Mekong River. But no, we have some of those river monsters right here in the United States.
And this was the ultimate Texas showdown: a monstrous blotched water snake going head-to-head with a massive catfish.
If you remember those absurd, low-budget SyFy channel movies like Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, this is basically the Walmart version of that.
For those who aren’t familiar, blotched water snakes are non-venomous, but you still wouldn’t want to mess with one. They are highly adaptable, aggressive hunters that thrive in the slow-moving rivers and streams across the southeastern United States. These snakes are incredibly thick-bodied and usually sport a grayish, olive, or brown base color with dark, saddle-like blotches running down their backs. They can grow to be fairly large, usually landing at about three to four feet in length, but have been known to max out around 5 feet.
Because they are thick, dark snakes that hang out near the water, they are constantly mistaken for venomous cottonmouths (water moccasins), and as a result, they unfortunately get killed by panicked people all the time. But they’re not related at all, and relatively harmless to the average person. The quickest way to tell them apart without getting too close? Cottonmouths swim with their entire bodies floating on top of the water, while water snakes swim with only their heads above the surface and their bodies submerged.
They are highly active, aggressive hunters however, feasting primarily on fish, frogs, toads, and crayfish. While they don’t pack venom, they have incredibly flexible jaws and a mouth full of specialized teeth designed specifically to pierce and hold onto extremely slippery fish. If you leave them alone, they will happily leave you alone. But if you corner one or try to pick it up to show off for your buddies, they are notoriously feisty… they bite early and they bite often. At the end of the day, the blotched water snake is just another blue-collar predator trying to make a living in the mud. They are great for the ecosystem, keep the pest populations in check, and are perfectly safe as long as you give them their space.
In this wild encounter, the snake has completely wrapped its long, muscular body around a catfish that honestly looks way too big for it to handle. But the snake is completely in its element. It locks onto the fish with an absolute death grip, effortlessly manhandling the heavy catfish in the current.
The folks on the shore just watched in pure shock as the snake refused to let go, wrestling the massive fish until it finally stopped fighting. It seems like the snake was trying to drag the catfish out of the water to make eating its lunch an easier endeavor, but the anglers on shore blocked its path. Once the catfish is completely dead, the snake will use those flexible jaws to swallow its hard-earned lunch whole.
Nature is absolutely ruthless. The next time you are wading out into a Texas river to cast a line, just remember what might be hunting around your ankles.
