Tennessee Man Captures Gargantuan Rattlesnake In Backyard

A Tennessee man discovered a monstrous reptile in his backyard earlier this week, a gigantic rattlesnake much larger than normal. Rob Freeman of Cheatham County, Tennessee, encountered the gargantuan rattler in his backyard, documenting it for all to see on Facebook on Wednesday.

The timber rattlesnake measured in at 6 and a half feet long, according to WKRN-2. Apparently, his wife and son were playing in the backyard when the huge snake slithered up to the premises. The image Freeman posted to Facebook can be seen below, courtesy of The State.

It was just the fourth time Freeman had ever posted on Facebook, per The State, but he made it a noteworthy one. Timber rattlesnakes of that length are highly unusual, with the venomous reptiles usually not exceeding 5 feet in length. It had 14 rattlers on its tail, according to Freeman’s wife Ashley.

One gruesome bit of context is that apparently, the family saw it eat a squirrel.

Since timber rattlesnakes are an endangered species, he had to get approval from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to kill it. It is only legal to kill them if they pose a threat. Since the snake was on his property, that constituted enough of a threat to justify disposing of it.

Timber rattlesnakes have a large geographical distribution that takes them from places like Texas all the way to parts of New York. They prefer forested areas and are dangerously venomous to both humans and animals.

Rattlesnakes use the signature rattles on their hind ends to warn anyone, or anything, encroaching on their personal space.