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Rattlesnakes can swim in the ocean and people are freaking out about this information

Jacksonville beach-goers have seen sharks on the sand, and gators in the waves just this week. Now they’re learning rattlers can swim right alongside them.

Rattlesnakes can swim in the ocean and people aren’t happy to learn about it.

In February, police captured a 5-foot rattlesnake just blocks away from the water in Jacksonville Beach.  

It turns out that even some locals didn’t know it could have easily ended up swimming right alongside them.

"I hate snakes," surfer Kael Farber said. "Rattlesnakes, I thought was like a desert animal, I never pictured them in the water."

Cayle Pearson, herpetology director at the Jacksonville Zoo said, it’s not uncommon for rattlesnakes to swim great distances off the coast of Florida.

"They are very capable swimmers,” Pearson said. "There are even some populations of rattlesnakes out on islands so they'll swim back and forth from the island to mainland Florida."

Some beachgoers like Rose Potzer can’t stand the thought of a rattler in the waves.

"I'd run,” Potzer said. “I'd be like Jesus, walking on water."

But not everyone is so squeamish, like her friend Lily Trelly.

"Floridians come out here to the ocean,” Trelly said. “They understand all the creatures that are out here. It doesn't bother me much. I'm out here in their ocean.”

Animals on local beaches have made multiple headlines in the last week.

Fishermen caught a 10-foot tiger shark in Ponte Vedra this week. 

RELATED: Ponte Vedra fisherman catches, releases 10-foot shark

Just days before an alligator was pulled from the waves in Jacksonville Beach.

RELATED: Lifeguards, Animal Control help save alligator found in ocean

"That's pretty crazy,” surfer Charlie Current said. “I don't know how I'd feel surfing next to a gator."

Rattlesnakes and alligators likely aren’t interested in hunting people, Pearson said, but that doesn’t mean they won’t bite if people get too close.

"They are going to defend themselves too so we want to respect their space,” he said. “Keep your distance.”

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