Oddly colored rattlesnake photographed in Florida wilderness. What caused bizarre look?
Rattlesnakes don’t get much sympathy but one seen in the Florida Panhandle has a growing social media fan base due to its abnormal appearance.
A photo shows the “baby” diamondback was born without the striking colors rattlesnakes need to camouflage themselves.
The result is a venomous snake that is a beautiful but unnerving buttery yellow.
“The snake is amelanistic, meaning it lacks black pigment,” the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission explained in a Nov. 12 Facebook post. “Because of its light coloration, it is less camouflaged and more susceptible to predation.”
In other words, it likely won’t survive long.
The photo was taken Oct. 22 by B.D. Jogerst of Tallahassee and it caught the snake coiled next to bright green coastal grasses — which offered it zero protection. It was taken as Jogerst and three friends “were scouting the Hickory Mound Unit of Big Bend Wildlife Management Area in Taylor County.” The area is about 55 miles southeast of Tallahassee, along the Gulf Coast.
Eastern diamondbacks are supposed to be “brown, yellow or tan with distinct black, brown and cream diamonds down their back,” according to the FWC. They average 3 to 6 feet, but can get as big as 8 feet, the state says.
The state’s post of the photo had gotten 2,000 reactions and comments as of Nov. 14, many from people amused by the snake’s sincere but clueless attempts to blend in.
“Sticks out like a sore thumb!” Kelli Simpson wrote. “Trying so hard.”
“My first thought was OMG that poor baby thinks it’s blending in. LOL. Bless it,” Carla Jones posted.
“It’s amazing how you can still identify it,” Tina Hodges wrote. “Beautiful (but) even this it would have scared the crap out of me.”
The Big Bend Wildlife Management Area is a paradise for rattlesnakes, “spanning 60 miles of coastline and 90,000 acres,” according to Floridanaturecoast.org.
This story was originally published November 15, 2022 at 4:04 AM with the headline "Oddly colored rattlesnake photographed in Florida wilderness. What caused bizarre look?."