Jul 31, 2016 2 min read

I read the July 27 article, “Snakes on a Plain: Mayor says Mingo serpents disrupted wedding,” with great amusement.

Little Mingo Creek runs through the backyard of my family home a few miles from the entrance of Mingo Creek County Park. As a child, I caught water snakes in the creek to keep as pets for a day or two. The Henry Bridge was a popular spot for art classes. My mom’s class painted, while the kids swam, fished and caught snakes.

My wedding was the very first held in the newly created park and we saw lots of wildlife that day, including a water snake. After graduating from California State College, I worked as a naturalist in Mingo Creek County Park for seven years and encountered hundreds of snakes. In the summer, it was not uncommon to find a dozen water snakes gathered into a mating ball or hanging from low willow branches over the creek. Handling snakes for scout day camps was part of my job, and we kept a 10-foot black snake for that purpose.

I brought my own son to the Ebenezer Bridge in the park as child, and he was catching water snakes at age 4. He has been bitten by non-venomous snakes dozens of times. Common species found there include black rat, ringneck, garter, milk, queen water and northern water snakes, none of which are venomous. I now live on Chokoloskee Island in the heart of the Florida Everglades. Along with a few harmless species, there are water moccasins, rattlesnakes and pythons that reach 18-feet and can eat a fawn. Here, snakes are aggressive and nonexistent cellphone service can result in serious life-threatening situations .

Thais Tepper

Chokoloskee, Fla.