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It’s large and venomous. Can you spot snake hiding in this Alabama forest photo?

Can you find the very large rattlesnake in this photo taken in Alabama?
Can you find the very large rattlesnake in this photo taken in Alabama?

Venomous snakes usually get the right of way, but first you have to see them.

This is apparently not as easy as most of us thought, judging from a photo shared on Facebook by the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division.

It shows a remote area of pine trees, rocks and brush, and state wildlife say a well-camouflaged snake is somewhere in there, too.

“Where’s Waldo and what species is he?” the post asked.

The post has gotten hundreds of reactions and comments, including some people who said they saw a rabbit rather than a snake. One woman swore she saw a fawn.

Many said they clearly saw a snake — “getting ready to pounce” — but were hard pressed to decide on a species.

The one thing many seemed to agree on was it was big.

“Rather beefy looking,” Alan Lynch wrote.

“He has not missed any meals,” James T. Sentell posted.

“Personally I would not name him/her Waldo. Spawn of the devil is a better fit,” Barb Lingerfelt Shedd said.

State officials eventually identified the snake in an update and offered directions on where to find it in the photo.

“There’s a timber rattlesnake coiled in the center,” the update said.

As for all those comments on the snake’s weight, well, timber rattlesnakes do tend to get big in Alabama, growing to 60 inches, the state reports.

“But there are reports of timber rattlesnakes growing up to 7 feet,” the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute reports. “Like other members of the pit viper family, the timber rattlesnake has a large, heavy-bodied appearance.”

It’s a timber rattlesnake and it’s in the middle of the photo.
It’s a timber rattlesnake and it’s in the middle of the photo. Facebook screenshot
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Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
Mark Price is a state reporter for The Charlotte Observer and McClatchy News outlets in North Carolina. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology. 
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