Rare black-tailed rattlesnake found in central Texas - first on record in 66 years

When Texas police responded to a call about a rattlesnake, they thought the critter looked a little... different, snake expert Tim Cole wrote on Facebook.

A family in a Jonestown neighborhood found a rattlesnake under their planter on Monday and called law enforcement for help, the Austin Statesman reported. Police brought in Cole to take a look. He identified it as a black-tailed rattlesnake, KVUE reported.

“They’re not common in Central Texas, that’s why it was exciting to find,” Cole said, according to San Antonio Express-News.

He says this is the first recorded sighting of a black-tailed rattler in Travis County since one was found dead in 1953, the newspaper said.

It is venomous, according to ReptileKnowledge.com, but Cole called the rattler “a very laid-back snake,” the Austin Statesman reported.

“I did not require snake tongs,” Cole said, according to the newspaper. “I just picked it up with the snake hook, and it rode the hook with no problems. It didn’t rattle when I positioned it for pictures.”

Cole posted photos of the snake to Facebook and called attention to the snake’s “ornate black tail.” His post has been shared more than 30,000 times as of Wednesday.

He’s planning to hold onto the snake for “educational purposes,” and will donate it to a museum when it dies, KVUE reported.