- Florida, USA -
Hiker Tracey Cauthen spotted a rare Rainbow Snake while hiking in the Ocala National Forest, 47 miles north of Orlando, and took pictures.
The Florida Museum of Natural History confirmed to the FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute that this colorful 4-foot-long reptile has not been seen in Marion County since 1969.
The museum said rainbow snakes are nonvenomous and harmless.
The FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute wrote in their Facebook post that: “Rainbow snakes are highly-aquatic, spending most of their life hidden amongst aquatic vegetation; seldom seen, even by herpetologists, due to their cryptic habits. Burrowing near creeks, lakes, marshes, and tidal mudflats, rainbow snakes specialize in eating eels, earning the nickname “eel moccasin”.
