The matte-black eastern indigo snake is nonvenomous and safe to hold, and they're known to prey upon even more dangerous venomous snakes. They're federally protected, however, so you're unlikely ...

NOTE: In 2016 biologists released a study determining that the species till then known as the “eastern indigo snake” is in fact two separate species — the eastern indigo snake, Drymarchon Couperi, and ...