While hiking at Jeffries Creek Park in Florence, South Carolina, Meredith Langley encountered a “beast” along the creek: a massive brown snake stretching four to five feet, blending perfectly with the surroundings. Though its size and stillness startled her, the serpent remained calm and unaggressive. Langley quietly captured a photo before retreating and shared the encounter on Facebook as a teaching moment for her kids and a warning to fellow hikers.

Online, reactions ranged from awe to fear. Some commenters called it a “whopper” or compared it to snakes from the Amazon, while others joked, “He’s probably swallowed somebody’s child already.” Many tried to identify it as a venomous cottonmouth, a water moccasin common in the area.

However, Sean Foley, curator of herpetology at the Riverbanks Zoo & Garden, confirmed it was actually a harmless water snake. Its impressive size isn’t unusual and takes years to achieve. Like many snakes, it will only defend itself if threatened, often flattening its head or rattling its tail to appear dangerous.

Langley’s advice? “A good rule of thumb is to just steer clear of all of them if you can help it.” Her encounter is a reminder that even the largest “beasts” in the wild deserve respect—and distance.