Snake expert: internet pic a hoax

A picture of an alleged giant 45 pound rattlesnake has been circulating around the internet and on our newscasts. Some call it a hoax. Some say it's legit.

Some people are saying this rattle snake was found right here in Arkansas in Dallas County.
Others say this photo is a joke, a scam, not the real deal.

A snake expert reached out to FOX16 after we aired this picture during Sunday night's newscast. To put it lightly, he's skeptical.

“We measured the scarf to be two feet or so, and I can position the stick so that the scarf is away from my body toward the camera to make it look larger and when people kill snakes they want the snakes to look a lot larger," says Jason Rinehart who studies snakes at Harding.

Rinehart says Arkansas has western diamondbacks, but the snake in the picture is an eastern diamondback. He thinks there is no way it is from Dallas County like the man in the picture claims.