This photo of a deadly Gaboon viper has been widely circulated in Milledgeville.

ATLANTA — Jason Clark doubts that a deadly Gaboon viper is loose in Milledgeville.

Still, the reptile expert immediately noticed tell-tale signs of the snake in a widely circulated photo that was reportedly snapped by a woman who reported the snake encounter.

Clark, who is president of Southeastern Reptile Rescue near Griffin, said he recognized the ornate skin and a white dotted line along the back and head of the snake that is so decorative, it’s as if the snake is covered with war paint.

Online commenters quickly speculated that the photographed snake, its portly body stretched out, appeared dead.

Clark knows better. The Gaboon viper in the photo, he said, was doing what it does – crawling in a straight line.

Even so, he’s skeptical.

“If there’s a Gaboon there, it was probably released,” he said Monday. “There are a lot of snakes that can get out of aquariums, but the Gaboon viper, that’s not their specialty.”

Plenty of doubt surrounds the alleged sighting of a venomous snake that calls Africa home and is highly regulated in Georgia.

A Baldwin County woman visiting a relative claimed to have seen and photographed the snake on July 12. She reported the encounter last week.

Considering the threat of the Gaboon viper’s long fangs and highly toxic poison, public safety officials haven’t been taking any chances.

“We were not able to prove or disprove it, so out of an abundance of caution, we’ve decided to assume it’s real,” said Sgt. Supervisor Bo Kelly, with the state Department of Natural Resources.

The state has chased down a handful of leads, only to come up empty handed, Kelly said. For instance, a man bragged on Facebook that the snake was his and it had been recaptured – all of which proved untrue.

“I expect that, if it’s found, it will be a member of the public who actually sees it,” Kelly added.

Patrols continue of the area where the snake was photographed, even though there have been no other sightings, said Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Scott Deason.

“Our hope is, if it does exist, that it’s not in an area where people are,” he said.

Should someone see the snake, they’re advised to avoid it and immediately call police, officials said.

The original snake report has puzzled authorities and set the community on edge, yet it remains unclear how a Gaboon viper might have ended up in Milledgeville.

The state requires a permit for all non-native, venomous snakes.

No permit is required for a non-venomous, non-native snake, such as a python.

The state also requires liability insurance for venomous snakes such as the Gaboon viper. Special housing, which must pass inspection, is also mandatory.

No one has a permit for a Gaboon viper in the Milledgeville area, said Wayne Hubbard, who oversees special permitting for the law enforcement division of the Department of Natural Resources.

Georgia has one of the most restrictive wild animal laws in the Southeast, Hubbard said. For snakes such as the Gaboon viper, permits are only issued to those who sell them or exhibitors such as a zoo.

Even so, violators aren’t easy to catch.

“It’s as easy as going somewhere, buying one and bringing it in, and minding your own business,” Hubbard said. “And we may never know unless somebody tells us.”

Others are legally permitted to have a Gaboon viper in Georgia. But the state’s inventory shows Clark, who is permitted as an exhibitor, is the only personknown to have one, said Hubbard.

He currently has two of the snakes, which he exhibits at special events. Zoo Atlanta also has two.

Clark helped the state wildlife officials identify the snake last week from the photo.

He noted in an interview that if he thought a Gaboon viper was really on the prowl in Milledgeville, he’d be there looking for it, too.

Still, like everyone else, he doesn’t completely dismiss the possibility.

Jill Nolin covers the Georgia Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach her at jnolin@cnhi.com.