Japanese Striped Snake

While hiking in the mountains this afternoon, I came across a Japanese striped snake of about one meter in length. This species of nonvenomous snake is pretty common. When the snake spotted me, it immediately assumed striking position, raising its head about ten centimeters into the air and feigned strikes multiple times.

Interestingly, the snake shook its tail like a rattlesnake, even though it did not have a rattle! It was my first time to see that. Thinking about it during the hike, I figured that snakes must have shaken their tails before some evolved rattles. Searching the internet, I found an article on New Scientist that confirms this:

Rattlesnakes silently shook their tails before evolving rattles

Once the striped snake ascertained that I would not attack, it carefully retreated and climbed a tree! Its tree-climbing ability was very impressive. At one point, it tried to reach across to the limb of a neighboring tree. Over forty centimeters of the snake’s body reached across the void at a near horizontal angle. Unable to reach, it watched me from its limb until I moved on down the trail.