Was it a rattler or a harmless reptilian cousin?

Was it a rattlesnake or a harmless reptilian cousin?

That's the question as various state, local and federal agencies debate whether the snake found last week by a postal worker in North Barrington is the elusive, endangered - and venomous - Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake.

Mike Redmer, a biologist from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Barrington, said it isn't.

Redmer says the snake he saw in a cell phone picture coiled on Grandview Road is the much larger, more common, but nonvenomous fox snake - often mistaken for the rattler.

While the subject of the grainy and blurry picture snapped by John Vosberg may be confusing to some, Redmer said, the body shape of that snake is different from the Eastern Massasauga.

"The tail on this snake is not the tail of a rattlesnake," he said. "A fox snake has a long tapered tail, whereas a rattlesnake is short and stubby with the rattle on the end."

Still, Vosburg says he knows what he saw Oct. 8, and more specifically, what he heard. The distinctive sound the snake made when he approached was enough evidence.

"They can say whatever they want, but I've been around snakes and I am 100 percent positive that it was a rattlesnake," he said. "When it rattled at me, the tail was off the ground, not hitting anything that would cause it to make a noise. Snakes do not do that."

However, the Wikipedia Web site says that like many snakes, fox snakes will vibrate their tails when harassed, which frequently results in them being mistaken for rattlesnakes.

Lake County Animal Control Coordinator Len Rackl, whose office received the call and picture from Vosburg and identified the snake as a rattler, said if the experts disagree, he'll take their word for it.

"But, I don't know how they could tell by the picture that was sent because I can't tell," he said. "I mean, it's real blurry."