A large, venomous rattlesnake was spotted swimming off the Keys

A charter boat in the Keys went fishing and discovered something highly unusual — an Eastern diamondback rattlesnake swimming in the water without a care in the world.

In a video recently shared by Ted Wilson, a captain with Islamorada Fishing Guide, you can see the 60-inch-long reptile — the largest poisonous snake in North America — gliding along in the middle of Florida Bay.

He said the snake swam toward them, as if the snake, known scientifically as Crotalus adamanteus, wanted to “hitch a ride.”

Since that wasn’t a possibility, the group decided to keep some space between them.

“I’ve never seen a rattlesnake in the Keys, much less a five-footer swimming in the middle of open water,” said someone aboard the boat.

According to Reptiles Magazine, this species — which preys on rats, squirrels and even rabbits — does, in fact, swim.

“Bye bye, snake,” another commented.

Scarlett Baur contributed to this report.

This story was originally published February 2, 2018 at 10:30 AM with the headline "A large, venomous rattlesnake was spotted swimming off the Keys."