Where did the venomous Cottonmouth, also known as the Water Moccasin, get its name?
The name ‘Cottonmouth’ comes from the defensive behavior of this snake. When threatened, the snake will coil its body and open its mouth to show the white, cotton-colored inside as a warning. Although there are several theories about the name ‘Water Moccasin’, no one knows for sure where these snakes got this name. Early settlers may have called the Cottonmouth and the closely related Copperhead “Moccasins” due to their brown, “moccasin-colored” skin, or due to the fact that these pit vipers lack rattles, moving as silently as the moccasin-wearing native Americans.
