They are copperheads, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, pygmy rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, coral snakes, and timber rattlesnakes. Of this lot, only coral snakes aren’t pit vipers; they are elapids.

Mississippi is home to the eastern copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix). Copperheads are venomous pit vipers known to freeze when they feel humans approaching. Most other snakes slither quickly away, ...