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A VIRAL post has claimed to show the first pictures of a rare ‘snake cat’ found only in the Amazon rainforest.
But is the unusual feline real or is the whole thing a hoax? – Here’s what we know.
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Is the snake cat real?
The existence of the snake cat was alleged on March 14 2023 on social media.
Twitter user Jeff Kamara posted a photo of a bright yellow and black cat, with a caption explaining what it claimed to show.
He wrote: “Serpens catus is the rarest species of feline on Earth.
“These animals live in hard to reach regions of the Amazon rainforest and, therefore, they are relatively poorly studied.
“The first images capturing the snake cat appeared only in 2020.
“[It] weighs up to four stone.”
However, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that any of this is the case.
There is no record of any cat species even remotely resembling the snake cat, nor of the name of its genus, serpens catus.
What have TikTok users said?
TikTok users were quick to point out the ridiculous nature of the claim.
A number of commenters accused the post of spreading misinformation.
One wrote: ” It is not difficult to find out this isn’t real if you have Internet. Google tells you if it is true or lie.”
Another chimed in: “This is a lie. Snake cat doesn’t exist.”
Meanwhile, a third added: “So much of [the] Amazon is still not explored, but this beautiful animal can’t be real.”
