![Hoop snake](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Hoop_snake.jpg)
The hoop snake is a
legendary creature
A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses ...
of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
It appears in the
Pecos Bill
Pecos Bill is a fictional cowboy and folk hero in stories set during American Expansionism, westward expansion into the Southwest of Texas, New Mexico, Southern California, and Arizona. These narratives were invented as short stories in a book b ...
stories; although his description of hoop snakes is the one with which people are most familiar, stories of the creature predate those fictional tales considerably. Several sightings of the hoop snake have been alleged along the
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
-
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
border in the
St. Croix River valley (Recently Hudson, Wisconsin),
Wake County
Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...
in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
,
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...
, and
Kamloops, British Columbia
Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...
.
In folklore
According to
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
, the distinguishing feature of a hoop snake is that it can grasp its tail in its jaws and
roll after its prey like a wheel;
which is similar to the ''
ouroboros
The ouroboros or uroboros () is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gnost ...
'' in
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
or the ''
tsuchinoko
In Japanese folklore, the , literally translating to "child of hammer", is a snake-like being. The name ''tsuchinoko'' is prevalent in Western Japan, including Kansai and Shikoku; the creature is known as in Northeastern Japan.
Tsuchinoko are ...
'' in Japan. In one version of the myth, the snake straightens out at the last second, skewering its victim with its venomous tail. The only escape is to hide behind a tree, which receives the deadly blow instead and promptly dies from the poison.
The hoop snake is mentioned in a letter from 1784 (published in ''Tour in the U.S.A.'', Vol. I, p. 263-65. London):
Sightings
Purported sightings are still occasionally reported, though the existence of the hoop snake has never been accepted by the scientific community.
Naturalist Raymond Ditmars
Raymond Lee Ditmars (June 22, 1876 – May 12, 1942) was an American herpetology, herpetologist, writer, public speaker and pioneering natural history filmmaker.
Biography
Ditmars was fascinated by all animals, but primarily reptiles, obt ...
placed $10,000 in
trust
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another
* Trust (bus ...
at a
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
bank for the first person to provide evidence of a hoop snake. Some have suggested it is a distorted description of the
sidewinder of the American Southwest, or of
mud snake
The mud snake (''Farancia abacura'') is a species of nonvenomous, semiaquatic, colubrid snake endemic to the southeastern United States.
Description
The mud snake usually grows to a total length (including tail) of 40 to 54 inches (1-1.4 m),M ...
s, which will occasionally lie in a loose hoop shape.
The hoop snake possibly is an embellishment of actual instances of snakes swallowing their own tails, mistaking them for prey.
See also
*''
Amphisbaena
The amphisbaena (, , or , plural: amphisbaenae; grc, ἀμφίσβαινα) is a mythological, ant-eating serpent with a head at each end. The creature is alternatively called the amphisbaina, amphisbene, amphisboena, amphisbona, amphista, am ...
''
*
Fearsome critters
In North American folklore, fearsome critters were tall tale animals jokingly said to inhabit the wilderness in or around logging camps,Dorson, Richard M. ''Man and Beast in American Comic Legend.'' (Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ. Press, 1982.)L ...
*
Joint snake
A joint snake is a legendary creature of the Southern United States, the myth likely having spread elsewhere. Supposedly, the joint snake can break itself (or be cut) into pieces and will reassemble itself. It is said that if a piece of the snake i ...
*
Ouroboros
The ouroboros or uroboros () is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gnost ...
*
Rotating locomotion in living systems
Rotation, or spin, is the circular movement of an object around a '' central axis''. A two-dimensional rotating object has only one possible central axis and can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. A three-dimensional ...
*
Serpent (symbolism)
The serpent, or snake, is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols. The word is derived from Latin ''serpens'', a crawling animal or snake. Snakes have been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to mankind and represent ...
*
Snow snake
References
{{American tall tales
Fearsome critters
Fictional snakes
Legendary serpents
Australian legendary creatures
Pecos Bill