Behold the ‘zombie snake’ of North Carolina

The North Carolina State Parks and Recreation department issued an online reminder about a species of serpent that will trick any threat into thinking it's dead.

"Who is this 'famous' NC snake?" the department wrote on Facebook.

"A cobra? A zombie snake?"

Both questions contain clues, with the answer being the eastern hognose snake.

Like a cobra, it will hiss and rear off the ground if threatened, even flattening out its neck like a cobra's hood.

And if the threat persists then, like a zombie, it will pretend to be dead until it can sneak away, rolling over onto its back and staying still if approached.

Needless to say, although the snakes rarely bite and are not considered venomous to humans, approaching them is not advised.