About the Eastern Indigo Snake Drawing
I have always been fascinated by Eastern Indigo Snakes (Drymarchon couperi). They are immense, powerful animals, yet individuals encountered in the field are often remarkably calm when handled. Their apparent gentleness contrasts with their abilities as active predators capable of overpowering other snakes, including large rattlesnakes, without using either venom or constriction.
An indigo snake may seize a rattlesnake, hold it down with its powerful body, and chew on its head until incapacitated allowing the prey to be swallowed. That combination of size, strength, confidence, and resistance to rattlesnake venom makes the Eastern Indigo Snake one of the most impressive predators in the southeastern United States.
These snakes move across large areas and use a variety of habitats, although gopher tortoise burrows provide especially important shelter in the northern part of their range. Habitat loss, fragmentation, road mortality, and other human pressures contributed to their disappearance from much of their historic range, and the Eastern Indigo Snake remains federally listed as threatened.
In Indigo Flame, I wanted to emphasize the contrast that makes this species so visually striking. The orange face and throat appear almost luminous beside the glossy blue-black scales, while the raised head and focused eye convey alertness, strength, and quiet confidence.
Indigo Flame is a colored pencil Eastern Indigo Snake drawing by Michael E. Dorcas for Tantilla Art.