There Are 3 Snakes Hidden in This Photo—Can You Spot Them All?

Snake season is now well and truly upon us. And while they might not always be visible, snakes can often be found hiding in plain sight.

While winding down after a mid-morning run, Ben Morgan, from Cordova, Tennessee, stumbled across not one, not two, but three snakes in the lake near his house.

"Count the snakes in this pic!" he said in a Facebook post to the group Tennessee Snake Identification.

Can you see all three?

"This time of year, it's not uncommon to see snakes in this particular spot as it's near a small feeder stream into the lake," Morgan told Newsweek. "I was surprised to see three."

When he arrived, the snakes were sunning themselves on the rocks. "They were likely hunting small fish or frogs as they also congregate among the rocks in this area," he said.

The snakes in the pool were northern water snakes, the most common water snake species in Tennessee. However, you would be forgiven for thinking they were part of the twigs and leaf litter due to their excellent camouflage.

According to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the species is a "large, heavy bodied water snake" which grows to between 24 and 42 inches in length on average. "The smallest was maybe 10 to 12 inches but the two larger ones were at least 24 inches," Morgan said.

Tennessee is home to 32 different species of snake, only four of which are venomous: the copperhead, the cottonmouth, the pygmy rattlesnake and the timber rattlesnake.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said that northern water snakes are commonly mistaken for copperheads and cottonmouths and killed as a result. However, even venomous species rarely bite unless they are threatened.

The easiest way to distinguish between a northern water snake and a copperhead is to look at the shape of the pattern on its scales. If observing from above, water snakes appear to have saddle-shaped dark bands along their back. The saddle shape is wide in the middle and narrow along the edges. By contrast, the copperhead's markings resemble an hourglass, with the narrowest section in the center.

Morgan's post has received hundreds of comments from users trying to find all of the snakes.

"Yikes!!! Too many!" said one user.

"One is enough to not stand there long enough to count anymore," said another.

After taking the photo, Morgan walked away and left the snakes where they were.

If you ever see a snake on your property that you think could be venomous, it is important to call in a licensed snake catcher rather than trying to remove it yourself.