Department of Natural Resource officers in Georgia are on the lookout for one of the deadliest snakes in the world.
A woman who lives of Harrisburg Road told police that she spotted a African gaboon viper slithering along the street earlier this month and snapped a photo on her cellphone.
“It was kind of scary. It was real scary for a minute there,” said Janice Howard, who lives in the area.
DNR rangers have crisscrossed the area trying to find the venomous snake, but have had no luck.
"The bite is extremely venomous on this thing. And the claims of 15 minutes to get the serum and stuff like that -- from what we can tell, that's the truth,”Ranger Matt Johnson said.
The snake's habitat is in central Africa. It can grow up to 7 feet long, can weigh 25 pounds and has 2-inch fangs.
Zoo Atlanta has a few gaboon vipers, but no one knows how the 4 foot snake could end up in the middle of Baldwin County. The sighting might date back to early July.
Howard said she believed it at first, but now has several questions.
“As time went on, I ain't seen nothing, nobody else seen nothing. Some said he's here or he's there. How can you believe it? I think it’s a hoax," Howard said.
Rangers said the viper could be more than 5 miles away by now, or 5 feet away hiding in the kudzu.
“Between us, GBI and the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office, we've done a lot of investigation into this to confirm the credibility of this report,” Johnson said.
Johnson said investigators examined the cellphone of the woman who took the picture, and the Web did not turn up any similar pictures of the snake.
“We cannot prove nor disprove the fact that the snake exists,” Johnson said.
With small children nearby, neighbors are especially concerned. Resident Dianne Williams said that if it tries to cross the road again she knows just what to do.
“Run over it,” Williams said.
