A 3-foot rattlesnake would seem unmissable in a yard, but a photo taken by an Arizona snake wrangler shows how easily they can blend into landscaping.
The image, taken in the backyard of a Tuscon home, features a western diamondback that is tough to see at first glance.
It was shared on Facebook by Rattlesnake Solutions, a snake relocation service that invited viewers to find the snake.
Many did … eventually.
Many others guessed wrong, and ended up posting photos of spots where there was no snake.
“I see two,” one woman wrote.
“Creepy thing,” another said.
So where is the snake?
Look under a large flat rock in front of the cactus, just to the left of center. It’s sitting there, coiled in the shadow. (See photo below.)
This is where the sneaky snake is hiding.
Dave Holland says the homeowner called Rattlesnake Solutions after spotting the venomous reptile on a slope in the yard.
“The snake was slightly over 3 feet and coiled under a large rock in front of a rodent burrow,” Holland told McClatchy News.
“My customer watched the snake from a safe distance until my arrival, so we knew exactly where it was. The removal was quick and easy, and my only concern was my quarry escaping into the burrow.”
Holland believes the snake had been using the spot for a few days to escape the heat. He captured the snake and released it in a wilderness area, which is standard practice for Rattlesnake Solutions.
Western diamondbacks are “heavy bodied” snakes and average 3 to 5 feet in the state, according to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. However, some as big as 7 feet have been found, the museum says.
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