The Snake and the Duck

 Today I was walking on the Trinity River near the University Park Village area when a shape in the river caught my eye. At first I thought it was maybe an otter or turtle. I saw the creature's small dark head poking above the water, creating a mini wake behind it as it proceeded down the river’s edge. I walked along the path to get closer, now maybe twenty feet away, when I realized it was in fact a snake. I could now see the rest of its body slowly slithering just beneath the surface of the water. It was probably about five feet long and thicker than I would have expected. I’m no expert, but after some research I think it was probably a water moccasin snake. Naturally my eyes followed the snake's path down the river to see if it was going anywhere in particular. About fifty feet down the bank I saw two mallard ducks, and now I was really interested. It seemed like there was no way that this snake would be able to take on a whole duck, but sure enough it continued to get closer and closer. Just as it was maybe eight feet from the ducks it slowed and came to a stop before continuing at a crawl - maybe just a few inches per second. If I had had a seat I would have been right on the edge of it. As the snake was closing in, the ducks slowly swam away, as if they had sensed the potential threat. They did not panic and fly away, and the snake did not give chase. The two ducks slowly swam on and the snake paused and then continued down the river in the same direction he had been headed the whole time. I have no clue whether the snake intended to attack a duck or if it was merely swimming down the bank. Maybe it was more scared of the ducks than they were of it, but it seemed like he was stalking his prey and approaching it the way a leopard sneaks up on its prey in a nature documentary. I can’t make my mind up as to whether I think it was hunting the ducks or not. Nonetheless, it was a cool moment to witness; two species with almost nothing in common interacting in the wild.