Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) posted the video to its Facebook page on Tuesday, and already it has garnered 33 million views. Commenters were both shocked and horrified by the snake’s Oscar-worthy act.
The video opens with a black snake that resembles a cobra slithering around in the dirt. After a few moments, the snake coils around itself and then flips over onto its back. With its mouth open, the snake attempts to tie itself into a knot.
Finally, after flipping and sliding around on the ground, the snake stops moving. In the final frame of the video, the snake looks absolutely lifeless as it lies motionless on its back.
In its post, the DNR clarified that the snake is not dead, nor is it a cobra.
“Nope, not a cobra. In fact, it’s not even a venomous snake,” the DNR said. “It’s actually just a native eastern hognose putting on the theatrical performance of its life.
“When this creepy critter feels threatened, it flares its neck and body by breathing in deeply and then expelling the air with an impresssssive [sic] hiss. If that doesn’t work, a hognose will forcefully roll onto its back and begin to writhe violently as if in terrible pain,” the department continued.
But the performance doesn’t stop there. According to the department, the snake may also “evert its cloacal vent, regurgitate its stomach contents, defecate, release musk and even bleed from its mouth.”
The eastern hognose can be found from southern Florida to central New England, said the University of Georgia on its website. According to the school, the snake preys on frogs, salamanders, small mammals and birds; rarely does this snake attempt to attack humans.
“Hognose snakes rarely ever bite humans. They’d much rather play dead like in the video above! Their venom is mild to humans and only prey items such as toads and amphibians need to B E W A R E,” the DNR explained in the comments section of its post.
In most cases, those who have been bitten by an eastern hognose were handling the snake after handling frogs or toads, the Florida Museum said.
Viewers of the Georgia DNR’s video couldn’t believe their eyes.
“Wow that thing amazed me,” said one commenter. “Truly deserves an Oscar. Btw [by the way] that Hognose is a hard worker.”
“This is my husband when he has the same cold I’ve had all while still going to work and taking care of the little human and dogs,” joked one.
“Love these snakes,” added another Facebook user. “I have seen their dead act, but never one that dramatic. He does deserve an award.”
One viewer remarked that the snake needn’t act dead around them.
“He can just save his energy. Because [IF] I ever come up on one. I will be finding a quick way to escape. I DO NOT like snakes,” they said.
Another simply replied: “Absolutely awesome and would scare me to death!”
