Eastern Hognose Snake

Heterodon platyrhinos

If you happen to be strolling along in the fields or woods of southern Ontario, happily admiring nature, and you come across a largish snake that suddenly rears up, flattens its neck and hisses loudly at you, don't panic.... it's not a cobra. It's just a very good actor: a hognose snake. It might even lunge at you, seemingly trying to strike... but it really isn't, it doesn't even open its mouth. If you hang around to watch the show, you might be lucky and see it die, complete with death throes, and roll belly up. As any true actor would, it places its role as the first and foremost priority: if flipped over, it will insist on once again turning belly up. Unfortunately, the actor sometimes fools the wrong audience. Hognose snakes have gotten themselves beaten to death because people fell for their cobra bluff. They are now considered rare, presumably due to the destruction of their habitat.

Distribution of Eastern Hognose Snake in Canada