Huge Rattlesnake Found in South Texas in Staring Contest With Cat

In Laguna Vista, Texas (west of Austin), the local police department posted a few photos of rattlesnake sightings on social media to warn residents that dangerous snakes are coming out of hibernation and will be spotted more often as the weather warms up. ABC 13 reports that one particularly large rattlesnake was found near a popular walking trail, so police wanted to make sure that people remain aware of their surroundings.

The Laguna Vista Police Department’s warning certainly grabbed a lot attention as their Facebook post currently has about 2,000 shares. One photo in particular really drew people in to take a closer look. In the snapshot, a brown tabby cat is seen with crouched its stomach on the ground staring into the eyes of a rattlesnake that looks poised to strike. The cat appears surprisingly calm, almost like they’re having a staring contest.

Unfortunately, there’s no information provided to tell the story of what lead up to the photo and what happened after it was taken, but as Facebook commenter Cameron Banks theorizes, “The cat doesn’t care because it’s the superior predator and isn’t the one in danger, though that size of snake would be a handful for a cat to actually kill.”

Hopefully both creatures went their separate ways after the intense staring contest.