Animal control officers in California in USA, recently got a call from a homeowner to remove a deadly rattlesnake from their backyard. Since rattlesnakes are venomous and their bite, if not treated, can even cause death, the caller was understandably rattled, reports NDTV.

Mercury News reports that a homeowner in Los Altos Hills claimed on Monday night that he had seen what appeared to be a dead snake in the middle of his backyard. The homeowner said that the snake had not moved in days, but he did not want to get close to it. 

Acting Superintendent Cody Macartney reached the property and assessed the situation—only to report that the deadly rattlesnake was actually a toy rubber cobra.

‘It’s rare that we get called to dispose of a dead snake, even more rarely do they turn into Cobras and rubberize themselves,’ said Palo Alto Animal Services in a Facebook post.

‘I picked it up with my bare hands much to the chagrin of the homeowner and told him it was fake,’ Mr Macartney said to Mercury News. ‘He asked if I was sure, and I said yes, and bent it into another position.

‘Still April Fools!!’ writes one person in the comments section. ‘It looks so real!’ says another.

This is definitely not the first time that a toy animal has created panic. In February, a 45-minute standoff between the police and a tiger ended when the police realised it was a stuffed toy.

More recently, a street was cordoned off for two hours for a plastic scorpion, while New Yorkers reported sightings of a tiger that turned out to be a raccoon.