‘Rare’ rattlesnake with mesmerizing skin found on Texas ranch. ‘It’s almost pretty’
Here is a sight that’s as rare as it is mesmerizing.
An albino western diamondback rattlesnake was discovered on a ranch in the Texas Hill Country last week, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
The landowner found the snake in Mason County, northwest of Austin, and a state biologist got a look at the “pretty cool critter,” officials said.
“Here is something you do not see every day,” Hill Country Wildlife - Texas Parks and Wildlife posted on Facebook.
This snake was estimated to be about 8 to 10 inches long. Typically, the western diamondback rattlesnake will grow between 30 and 72 inches.
The venomous species is noted for its diamond-shaped patterns in various tones of gray and “vertically elliptical” pupils similar to cats.
Another photo of the snake captured these red pupils.
Animals born albino are unable to produce pigment in skin, hair, feathers, scales or eyes, resulting in white to off-white colors. Life as an albino animal in the wild can be difficult because their eyes are sensitive to sunlight and many species rely on body color to camouflage from predators or sneak up on prey.
“Fortunately, true albinism occurs very rarely in the wild,” according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “Some say it happens only once in every hundred thousand births. Others claim it is even more rare — one in a million.”
The landowner who found the albino snake planned on returning it to the same area it was found, officials said.
“It’s almost pretty,” a Facebook user commented.
Watch a large snake burrow through rocky Texas soil for its prey. ‘What a show!’
Act of kindness ends with rattlesnake getting loose in Mississippi man’s pickup truck
Blue-eyed cottonmouths can be seen in late summer heat. It’s not a trick of light
