Here is a photo of a rare banana snake I took last year in the Louisiana bayou. People who have never seen one assume it’s yellow, but it gets its name from actually eating bananas. There aren’t a lot of bananas growing on the Gulf Coast, which explains why the snake is so uncommon in that area. These snakes tend to live near produce department dumpsters, monkey exhibits at zoos, and schoolyards, where accessible bananas are more likely to be found. The banana snake is not poisonous, and it has no teeth. It is harmless, unless you are a banana.

The banana snake can eat any number of unpeeled bananas, which, when placed end to end, do not exceed the length of the snake. When it is finished with its meal it lays still on the grass in the sunlight, slowly digesting the fruit. Looking at the curvature of the snake, you can discern the sizes, shapes, and positions of the bananas as they were consumed.