Polk couple encounters 9-foot-long rattlesnake while bird watching

I grew up on a farm in eastern Nebraska. When I was in high school biology class my teacher said I was telling a lie when I said that we had rattlesnakes in our area. He tried to make a fool of me in front of the class. By pure coincidence while fixing pasture fence that weekend I saw a skinny, weak rattlesnake who must have just come out of hibernation. He was an easy catch and my biology teacher was a little embarrassed when I took it to school that Monday. Yes, I took a rattlesnake to school. The 70's were a little different.

That snake is so big, it doesn’t have a rattle — it has its own percussion section!

Actually, ya'll, I never said that my husband and I thought it was 9 feet long, the reporters got that from who knows where. What we were amazed at was it's WIDTH even more than its length. It was just one fat (and long) snake. Couldn't get video AND photos because as quickly as it was moving from tall grass across the road and into more tall grass I had a choice of pix or a video and with my little camera video takes a minute to come up - 3 pix was all I could manage. So, there you have it from the photographer - me.

Maybe you could SEE the rattlesnake IF the news station didn't have their banner taking up the entire bottom of the SCREEN????

In 2005 the video is titled “couple sees 9-foot rattlesnake”… in 2021 “woman fat shames plus-size snake..” 😂😂😂

That big rattlesnake is a good hunter and is feeding well.

couple: taking pictures rattlesnake: “don’t mind me , i’m just passing through .”

I'll never forget an old photo I saw in an old "general store" years ago on a trip through Ga.A very tall man holding an obvious rattlesnake across his shoulders (you could see the diamond markings and rattles) that reached the ground on both sides of him!! You could tell from his "build" that he was a tall man (thin,lanky long legs) This was many years before camera phones etc... maybe around 1974 so no photo shop etc... Snake had to be at least 10-11 ft. ! I've never forgotten the picture and I'm 70 years old now, was only 19-20 years old when I saw it

The critter looks as if he's just swallowed an escaped python from the Everglades.

Wow! I thought it was a gator’s tail at first. I’ve see rattle snakes like that in area as a child. Scary.

My husband used to work at the Kennedy Space Center and he saw rattlesnakes that size several times. They do get massive in Florida!!

No 9 ft rattlesnakes on record. Largest rattlesnake on record is 7"9. Those things are thick and among the heaviest venomous snakes.

Why did the rattlesnake cross the road? To get the chicken.

Rattlers are lazy and not really interested in people. Don't screw with it and they won't bite you.

The one thing I like about rattlesnakes is the fact that they're very courteous.

They have some big eastern diamond backs in Washington d c.They are mostly found at 1700 Pennsylvania ave and at the. Capital.sometimes you see them being driven around but mostly they are crawling like their western cousins.stay safe people

9 foot, 6 foot or 3 foot, either way if you get bitten by him, you've just had a bad day for sure.

When i was 17 and living nahunta Ga one of my entertainments was catching wild snakes and one day while driving down a naturally used dirt road a Diamondback around that same size was leisurely strolling across it. My mother was in the cab with me as i slammed on the brakes and got out to retain the snake. She was upside down inside the truck screamings but she also can testify to a rattle snake this large for they do exist and are quite common just too damn smart to get caught most of the times. I enjoyed the rareness of the catch and kindly let the snake on his way.

This guy has the perfect new casting voice and accent lol

Thanks WFLA... just make up the length (based on what Cathy says below) as you go to get more eyes on you. As someone who spent 20+ years in journalism, if I had made up stuff like that I would have been fired for misleading the public.