For those who are not aware of this project, Florida Sea Grant logs snake encounters that occur in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. The purpose for this is to provide information to the public as to which species people most often encounter and what time of year. Below is the summer report.
Photo: Nick Baldwin
Encounters During the Summer
32 encounters
11 species – none of them were new species
Top five species
- Cottonmouth (14 encounters)
- Southern black racer (5 encounters)
- Eastern coachwhip (3 encounters)
- Gray rat snake, Eastern kingsnake (2 encounters each)
- Florida red-bellied snake, Eastern ribbon snake, Corn snake, Banded water snake, Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, Pygmy rattlesnake (1 encounter each)
Overall Encounters for 2026
170 encounters
16 species (40% of the known species that occur here)
Top five species
- Cottonmouth (44 encounters)
- Southern black racer (29 encounters)
- Eastern ribbon snake (21 encounters)
- Banded water snake (17 encounters)
- Gray rat snake (10 encounters)
We will post the winter and final report in December.
If you encounter a snake please send to Rick O’Connor – roc1@ufl.edu – please include photo for verification if you can.
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