Georgia Woman Finds Deadly Snake in Her Fish Pond: 'Not a Very Fun Removal'

Imagine gazing thoughtfully into your fish pond only to be met with the eyes of a venomous snake.

A woman in Warner Robins, Georgia, discovered exactly that while looking into her koi pond enclosure on Saturday afternoon. She called in snake catcher James Dowling, of Houston County Georgia Snake Removal & Relocations.

"[It was] not a very fun removal call," Dowling said in a Facebook post detailing the incident. "[The] resident sent me a few photos of a snake she spotted inside her koi pond enclosure. Details of the photo were not great, but I had a feeling it was a cottonmouth."

Cottonmouths—also known as water moccasins—are a venomous snake species found throughout the southeastern United States as well as north into southern Indiana and Illinois, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

"There is a certain level of excitement going into a challenging removal," Dowling told Newsweek. "The pond is enclosed [and] was like stepping into the rain forest with not many clear places to walk...I knew that if I found the snake not in the water, I would have to act fast or the snake would dart into the water because it's a safety zone."

After a quick search around the pond, Dowling spotted the snake, nestled between a group of rocks. "Once the snake spotted me and realized it was about to be confronted it was trying to escape back into the water for safety and wasn't too pleased to be being caught and removed from its tropical-like paradise," he said.

Cottonmouths, like most snakes, will always try to flee as a first port of call when they are approached by a human. If this is not possible, they will vibrate their tails and stretch open their large, white mouths, from which they got their name.

Biting is only used as an absolute last resort and only usually happens when the snakes are handled or stepped on. It is, therefore, always wise to call in a snake catcher if you see one on your property rather than trying to remove it yourself.

At this time of year, though, snakes often avoid showing themselves at heat of the day. "Things tend to slow a bit during the hottest parts of the year as the snakes tend to use nightfall to come out more for hunting and moving around," Dowling said. "Much like people, snakes find the hottest days to be uncomfortable and would rather not be out in it if they can help it. That's not to say we won't see them during the heat of the day but it's just not as common."