Can you spot the snakes camouflaged among the leaves – you might be surprised by what you ACTUALLY find
CAN you spot the three snakes hidden among the leaves in the picture below?
The snakes in the picture are eastern copperheads, a venomous species of pit viper found across eastern parts of North America, and are masters of camouflage.
Copperheads have a distinctive hourglass pattern on their scales. which, combined with their brown coloration, makes for extremely effective camouflage.
This enables them to blend in with their surroundings and means they are very difficult to spot among fallen leaves, for instance.
They can grow to around 22 to 36 inches as adults, the Florida Museum of Natural History explained.
The picture was shot by Bonnie Keller, who works with wildflife company K2C Wildlife Encounters, in Virginia.
“I had just released them, so I knew where they were,” Bonnie told Newsweek.
“But it was amazing how easily they blended in, so I took the picture.
“Evolution has favoured this coloration to protect them from predators such as foxes, birds of prey, etcetera,” she said.
Bonnie’s picture was shared by K2C on Facebook, leaving viewers shocked when they actually find them.
“Look what happens when you have copperheads in leaves….. magic, they disappear!!” the post read.
“Fortunately, copperheads tend to stay in places with more cover, but be vigilant!”
One user revealed she had “learned the hard way” how effective copperhead camouflage can be when her puppy was bitten by one of the snakes.
“Bonnie helped relocate the copperhead hanging out in the front yard by our bushes where there was mulch and leaves, and since then we have kept our yard a bit more organized and hopefully not as hospitable to snakes,” another commented.
Have you managed to spot them?
If not, don’t worry as Bonnie outlined their locations in the edited image below.