Just like a fish tale, it gets bigger with each telling. Captions accompanying a photograph of three men and a giant rattlesnake, passed from inbox to inbox by e-mail, claim the scary-looking serpent was found in the hills of Clay County. In some notes, it's purported to be 8 feet long and 50 pounds. Others claim it weighed in at 118.But an expert in such matters says it's likely no more than 10 pounds, held closer to the camera just like many a fish to make it look larger than it really is. And it's not from West Virginia.The photograph shows three men, two in jeans and matching tan shirts with embroidered name tags. The face of the third man, clad in a navy windbreaker, is obscured by the snake.

Though it was alive and healthy at the time of the photo, the snake is a western diamondback rattler that does not live east of the Mississippi River, concludes D. Bruce Means, executive director of the Coastal Plains Institute and Land Conservancy in Tallahassee, Fla."Any attempt to claim that this is a giant snake, or that it naturally occurs in the Appalachian region, is purely bunk," Means said Thursday in response to an e-mail from The Associated Press.

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Hey all i can say for sure is;I was born and grew up in WEST VIRGINIA, and i have never seen or heard of a snake getting that big, and i lived in charleston, on Taylor mountain

Well, Im glad its not running( or slithing around) any more, that thing could kill someone.

I wonder if it is somehow realted to the other HUGE bear?

I think exaggeration is inherently a characteristic of maleness.

edited because the first way I wrote it sounded like I was trying to be dirty.

so what are they going to do with it now

Probably make boots. O_o

I heard in the Floridas (I live in New Mexico. >/) They have rattlesnakes there that are 8 feet long and such. I believe it somwhat, the mountians are huge and not a lot of people go there.

This is probably fake though. 118 pounds? No way.

IMO....If it weighed 118 lbs I don't think he would be holding it out on a stick like the pic shows.

I think they meant 11.8 pounds in weight.

I've seen them 6 - 7 feet long and weighting around 30-35 lbs, but then I live in West Texas where the varmits are a native species. A Neighbor killed a 6.5 footer coupla years ago and found a full grown jackrabbit in it/s stomach!

It looks like a big snake, but it's no 118. Just because somebody says that it can't be found in a certain area does not mean it isn't true. The local news in this area says there have been no confirmed mountain lions in the area in 20 years, yet I have seen them on three different occasions. I also know about 30 other people who have seen them on there property.

Well I personally would`t want to be come across a snake that big around my house!

It really looks the guy is holding the snake close to the camera. It's obviously a real snake, and a big one, but I just think it's a trick of the photogragh that it looks SO huge.

if thats a real snake...its a pretty big snake.

I've heard of snakes that get to be 20ft long but those are of a different breed of snake.
I've never heard of a rattler getting that big.

Urban Legend website put up a picture of a snake caught under an electric fence.
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i seen a larger one that ate a man

that snake looks more like a boa or phython than it does a rattler!

This article was in the Stephenville Empire Tribune, Stephenville, in February-May, 2005. The snake was said to be between 14 - 17 pounds and was 6 to 7 feet long.

Does anyone know if this picture is a rumor?

Hello I live in P.A. and its not uncommon to see snakes reach 7 feet long of coarse those are black snakes but still when you come acrost them they scare you half to death.

I've seen a few of 6 - 7 foot rattlers and other kinds out here in W. Texas. Most are smaller, but now and then I'll see one and... "Woah!"... followed by many explicatives.

Never seen one as big as that South Ga Girl, but I sure wouldn't say it ain't so. I'd freak out if I saw one that big. Have a heart attack and become a meal on the spot!

Ugh that snake looks mean! I seen some pretty Big ones....this one looks bigger than most I seen though.

The story behind it is fake...The snake in that picture is probably 7 feet long and less than 20 lbs... No way an Eastern Diamondback can reach the size they proposed...

I've been to many Rattlesnake Roundups, and I can tell you those things can grow into some massive specimens.