FLORENCE, SC – A South Carolina woman walking near a stream was surprised to find a huge snake hidden near the edge of a stream.
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Meredith Langley took pictures of the reptile on Tuesday at Jeffries Creek Park in Florence and shared them on Facebook, the state of Columbia reported.
“Notice how well it blends in with the environment,” said Langley in his post. “This was a good teaching opportunity and an example for my own children who forget not to run in front of me on the trails!” she said.
The post received dozens of comments and was shared by more than 1,000 people on the social media site.
“He probably already swallowed someone, kid,” teased a poster, adding, “I’m not going to make tracks, period.”
“What a beast!” someone else wrote.
Sean Foley, curator of herpetology at the Riverbanks Zoo & Garden in Columbia, said the reptile is a harmless water snake, “probably” a brown water snake, The State reported.
Although water snakes are considered harmless, they do their best to convince potential threats that they may be poisonous snakes, Foley told McClatchy News.
“If they are cornered or attacked, they will defend themselves by flattening their heads, striking and wagging their tail on the leaves,” said Foley. “All of these things make them look dangerous to potential predators, in the hope that they will be left alone.”