Another Venomous Copperhead Snake in NJ — Two in One Week

Days after a northern copperhead snake bit a man in Paterson, another northern copperhead was picked up by animal control officers from a parking lot in Montclair.

"The areas where these snakes were found is not part of the natural range of the northern copperhead in New Jersey, so it is presumed that they were illegally held animals that either escaped or were released," state DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said Monday.

On Tuesday, June 11, Montclair animal control officers got a call and were sent a photo of the snake, which was found in the Upper Montclair Plaza parking lot.

Responding officers captured it using a net and a pair of snake tongs, before putting it into a locking plastic container, according to township animal control officer Michele Shiber.

She also said the state Division of Fish & Wildlife was called, in order to transfer the snake to "an organization that will use it for educational purposes."

Local residents did the right thing by contacting animal control and keeping the snake within eyesight but out of reach until officers arrived, Shiber said.

It's the second copperhead picked up within a week in an urban area of North Jersey. On Saturday, June 8, a man in Paterson was bitten on a finger. The man was taken for treatment and that snake was picked up by animal control.

Of 22 species of snake found in New Jersey, only the northern copperhead and the timber rattlesnake are venomous, according to the state DEP.

Copperheads are found mainly in the northern portion of the state in the New Jersey/New York border area and in parts of Hunterdon, Mercer, and Somerset Counties, as well as the Palisades in Bergen County.