Dangerous snake spotted lurking in grass near Melbourne school - but would you see it?

A venomous snake concealed near a bike path close to a school is the latest reptile which has social media users scratching their heads.

The serpent was spotted by Mark "The Snake Hunter" Pelley last week next to Hazel Glen College in Doreen, Melbourne.

He took a picture of the lowland copperhead snake hiding in the grass and asked his Facebook followers if they could find it.

Mr Pelley told Yahoo7, "I was just walking my dog through Doreen. It was about 6pm at night and I saw the snake just sitting there in the grass.

"It was trying as best it could to hide."

Of the 14,000 people who saw the picture, the snake catcher said around one in 100 correctly spotted where the reptile was.

About half of them guessed which species it was.

Mr Pelley said this reptile was easier to spot than others in previous images he has posted - but many online users still seemed baffled.

One wrote: "Ok once again I can't see it. Seriously we could have snakes all around our house and I woildnt see them (sic)"

Another said: "I feel like it's a trick question!'

Mr Pelley said he wanted to share this particular picture for a number of reasons.

"There's a school right there, that's why I just wanted to bring it to the parents' attention."

The snake catcher believes the reptile had been right next to the path about 50 metres from Hazel Glen College and could have been there when school finished.

"If the children had tried to make a short cut they could have come across a snake."

He added: "This is a still picture with a high resolution camera and even then you struggle to see it.

"Most people don't look at the grass."

The snake catcher also wanted to raise awareness about lowland copperhead snakes.

"It's one of the lesser known venomous snakes here in Melbourne even though it's very common to Doreen, " he said.

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Mr Pelley said a bite from a lowland copperhead is potentially fatal.

"Its bites can still kill you. There has been at least one documented near-fatal event as a result of this snake bite, however the person was saved with antivenom."

The snake catcher is reminding people who came across snake not to touch it under any circumstances and call in licensed snake catcher.