Photo of beached sea snake at Wild Cattle Beach goes viral

An image of a massive sea snake stranded at a Tannum Sands beach has entranced thousands after it went viral online.

An image of a massive sea snake stranded at a Tannum Sands beach has entranced thousands after it went viral online.Â

An image of a massive sea snake stranded at a Tannum Sands beach has entranced thousands after it went viral online.

A picture shared to the Australian Native Animals Facebook page on Sunday, showed the snake emerging from the surf at Wild Cattle Beach, before it was reportedly flung back into the ocean by a passer-by.

The photo sparked mixed reactions online, with some users commenting the snake should not have been thrown back into the water.

‘Not a good idea to just throw them back’ commented one user.

‘Putting it back was a bad idea, they only come to shore if they are sick or injured’ another user posted.

Another user commented the snake was ‘way bigger’ than the sea snakes he’d seen.

An image of a massive sea snake stranded at a Tannum Sands beach has entranced thousands after it went viral online. Â

Tannum Sands snake catcher David Voss said the snake most likely came to shore due to a strong offshore wind.

Mr Voss said the snake could have also been injured and beached itself.

“Sometimes they don’t have the strength to defend themselves and just beach themselves,” he said.

Mr Voss said residents should report all snakes to local snake handlers.

“A lot of sea snakes are quite venomous, some have very small fangs so they can’t bite you but others certainly can and are extremely dangerous,” he said.
“Unless you’ve been trained in snake handling, the best advice is not to touch them.”