North Louisiana Wildlife

Follow Us through the Forests and Wetlands

At A Glance

North Louisiana is home to more than 100 species of reptiles, including 15 species of lizards, 60 of snakes, and 26 of turtles. You can learn more about some of the reptiles we’ve met by clicking on the cards below the numbers.

The locations in the badges are the biomes where we’ve met them (and where we think you’ll be most likely to come across them). That doesn’t mean they don’t hang out in other places. 

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Species of Turtles

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Species of Snakes

By The Numbers

Learn more about reptiles in North Louisiana.

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Invasive Species

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Species of Reptiles

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Species of Lizards

American alligator swimming in leafy water
Lakes, Swamps

Alligators

You're most likely to find these Cretaceous period lizards swimming through a swamp or lake or sunning on a log. BUT, they do roll up on land, and will hang out under bushes near lakes. They can run up to 30 mph in short bursts -- so watch your step in those lakey areas.

Learn More.

Lizards

Green anole having lunch
Swamps

Green Anoles

You'll meet these little color-morphin' friends scurrying across wooden platforms, weaving over and under pine straw on the ground, or grabbing lunch from a low-hanging tree branch.

Learn More.
Immature five-lined skink in a threat pose a wooden walkway
Swamps

Five-Lined Skinks

You'll meet these fiesty little skinks wherever you look near bushes...especially if those bushes are near standing water.

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Forests

Little Brown Skinks

We find these little camo animals in dry areas near swamps. Like their legless penny-colored relatives, they're often on (or under) pine straw.

Coming Soon.
Pair of eastern fence lizards on a wooden perch
Forests

Eastern Fence Lizards

You can meet these lizards throughout North Louisiana year round. You'll most likely find these little guys and gals at Corney Lake or the Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden in Kisatchie.

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Adult male broadhead skink on a rotting log
Forests

Broadhead Skinks

You'll meet this skink on rotten logs and in deep brushy forested areas near water (so basically the entirety of North Louisiana is potential habitat for them).

Learn More.

Venomous Snakes

Timber rattlesnake on rocky ground
Forests, Swamps

Canebrake Rattlesnakes

Your most likely to meet these chevron-wearing snakes in hardwood forests. If you've spent much time in deep woods, odds are you've walked past one of these, since they blend with their environment dangerously well.

Learn More.
Adult cottonmouth slithering across a gravel road
Swamps, Lakes

Cottonmouths

You'll meet cottonmouths -- aka water moccasins -- in and near swamps, lakes, and other bodies of water, but not if they see you first. These snakes musk when they're spooked, so if you smell a treacherous stench, take a look around, you might be in the presence of this Duke of the Swamp.

Learn More.
Juvenile copperhead in a defensive pose in an asphalt road
Forests, Swamps

Copperheads

You'll find these bad-tempered snakes in roads, forests, swamps, your yard -- pretty much everywhere. Their hobbies include blending in with their environment and snapping at people who disturb them.

Learn More.

Nonvenomous Snakes

Rough green snake slithering through bushes
Swamps

Rough Green Snakes

You're most likely to meet rough green snakes in bushes near swamps.

Learn More.
Black western rat snake (chicken snake) crawling over a limb
Forests

Western Rat Snake

These snakes hang out in forests, yards, swamps...basically, it's one of the most common snakes you'll meet in North Louisiana.

Learn More.
Mississippi green water snake in shallow swamp water
Lakes & Swamps

Mississippi Green Water Snake

As you can probably guess from this name, Mississippi greens are found in lakes and swamps in North Louisiana.

Learn More.
Glossy crayfish snake slithering along the ground
Swamps

Glossy Swamp Snakes

You're most likely to meet these small, shiny snakes near swamps.

Learn More.
Broad-banded water snake swimming under water
Swamps

Broad-Banded Water Snake

You're most likely to meet this snake when you're spending quality time at the swamp. They're all over Black Bayou NWR near Monroe.

Learn More.
Diamondback water snake swimming
Lakes

Diamondback Water Snake

You're most likely to find these cottonmouth and rattlesnake dopplegangers sunning near or swimming in a lake.

Learn More

Turtles

Eastern box turtle foraging on the ground
Forests

Eastern Box Turtles

You'll find these land turtles in wooded areas near streams, especially where there's undergrowth, and maybe in your yard.

Learn More.
Red-eared slider swimming
Lakes & Swamps

Red-Eared Sliders

You'll find these turtles swimming in or sunning near pretty much any body of water you visit, including sloughs and ditches.

Learn More.

Visit Our Wildlife

Explore North Louisiana's Outdoors.

Learn about national wildlife refuges, Kisatchie National Forest ranger districts, state wildlife management areas, and state parks found throughout North Louisiana.

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